How to discover what Linux distribution is in use

Question

Sometimes I need to access some servers running Linux (or maybe another Unix-like SO), but I don\'t know how to verify which distribution is in use on the server (there are

Answer 1

NeoFetch

... is a quite professional BASH script that should have all the info you might desire.

(Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with it)

Usage

neofetch --stdout | grep '^OS: ' | sed -e 's/OS:[[:space:]]\+//'

might give:

Debian GNU/Linux 11 (bullseye) x86_64

but there is much more info.

Installation

Options:

1. system packaage neofetch

2. If that is not available, either see the official installation instructions

3. or for a hacky one-time use - if you have faith and an internet connection - you could use:

   wget 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dylanaraps/neofetch/master/neofetch' \
       && bash neofetch --stdout \
       && rm neofetch