We may need to know which version of the Debian operating system we have installed on our computer. This can be useful in various situations, such as when we need to download a software build for a particular version of our current operating system or when we need to access online support or deal with development environments. Whatever the reason, it's always a good idea to check the operating system version you're using.
In this guide, we will show you how to find out which version of Debian is running on your computer. There are two main methods to find out. One is through a graphical user interface, the other is through a command-line terminal. In this tutorial, we will go through both ways.
Check Debian Version from Graphical User Interface
To check your Debian version from the Graphical User Interface, follow the below steps:
Step1: Launch the Settings utility in your Debian OS. To do so, hit the super key on your keyboard. In the search bar that appears, type the keyword settings. When the Settings icon appears, click on it to launch.
Step 2: When the Settings window appears, Go to the Details tab.
You will see the following view displaying the version of OS along with other system information like Memory, Processor, Graphics, OS type, etc. In our case, we are running the Debian version 10.
Check Debian Version from Terminal
The quick and best way to find the version of OS is through the Terminal utility. To open the Terminal in your Debian OS, go to the Activities tab in the top left corner of your desktop. Then in the search bar, type terminal. When the Terminal icon appears, click on it to launch.
There are different ways to check the version of a Debian OS using the Terminal. We will explain them one by one.
Using the lsb_release command
The lsb_release command can be used to find the version of a Linux OS. It might not be already installed in your OS, so you will need to first install it. Run the following command in the Terminal to install lsb_release:
$ apt-get install lsb-release
Once installed, run the following command in Terminal to find the version of your OS:
$ lsb_release -a
You will see the output similar to below:
The above output displays the current version of a Debian OS. In our case, it is Debian 10.
Using /etc/issue file
Another way to determine the version of Debian running on your system is by viewing the issue file located at /etc directory on the system. You can use the cat command to view the content of the file. Enter the following command in your Terminal to do so:
$ cat /etc/issue
You will see the output similar to below displaying the current version of your OS.
Using /etc/os-release file
The /etc / os-release is a file containing the identification data of the operating system and it can only be found on the latest Debian distributions running systemd. It can be used to find out the version of your OS. To view the /etc/os-release, run the following command in Terminal:
cat /etc/os-release
You will see the output similar to below displaying the current version of your OS.
Using hostnamectl command
The hostnamectl command is used to configure or modify the hostname of a system. You can also use this command for determining the version of your Debian OS.
Simply type the following command in Terminal:
$ hostnamectl
You will see the output similar to below displaying the current version of your OS along with other system information such as hostname, machine ID, kernel ID, and architecture.
Using cat /etc/debian_version
The methods we have discussed above only show the current version of the OS you are running. However, if you want to know the current update point releases, you can use the /etc/debian_version file. To do so, run the following command in Terminal:
$ cat /etc/Debian_version
You will receive the output similar to the below displaying accurate information about the version of OS.
That is all there is to it! It's very easy and straightforward to find the version of a Debian-based OS. We have discussed several ways including both GUI and command line using which you can determine the version of your OS.