How to Check Your Linux Distribution & Best Server Distros

SSH into your server that you haven't touched for months and ask yourself a serious question – what am I dealing with anyway? Knowing your Linux distribution is crucial, because package management is different, configuration paths change, support lifecycles expire, and half of the tutorials assume you already know your distribution family.

In this article, you will learn two things. Firstly, I will show you how to find out Linux distribution and version information easily on any machine using simple commands. Secondly, after you figure out your distribution, I will help you choose a correct Linux distribution for your next server, whatever it may be – a simple web project or an enterprise solution.

TL;DR: Run cat /etc/os-release to check Linux distro and its version in one second. For a new server, Ubuntu LTS and Debian are the safest choices in general, and AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux are better for RHEL compatibility.

Section 1: How to find out your current Linux distribution

There are dozens of variations of this question in search bars: "check linux distro", "linux get distro", "get linux distro version". No matter how you ended up here, your way is through one file. There are four commands to remember, plus one in case you have a really old machine.

1. cat /etc/os-release (runs on nearly all machines)

Use this command first of all. The /etc/os-release file exists on every Linux distribution using systemd, which means basically all the popular Linux distributions nowadays.

bash

cat /etc/os-release

Sample output on an Ubuntu server:

plain

PRETTY_NAME="Ubuntu 26.04 LTS"
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION_ID="26.04"
VERSION="26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian

Two pieces of information are crucial here. PRETTY_NAME gives you an answer in a human-readable format, and ID_LIKE defines the family of the distribution. You need the latter if you see something like "for Debian-based systems, use apt".

2. lsb_release -a

Old, but still used quite often:

bash

lsb_release -a

Sample output on an Ubuntu server:

plain

Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
Release:        26.04
Codename:       resolute

Only caveat here is that the lsb-release package is not preinstalled in some minimalistic Linux distributions. If you get "command not found" error, don't install it. Just stick to /etc/os-release instead.

3. hostnamectl

In systemd distributions, hostnamectl combines distribution, kernel and machine architecture into one convenient chunk:

bash

hostnamectl

Sample output on an Ubuntu server:

plain

 Static hostname: web-01
Operating System: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
          Kernel: Linux 6.14.0-15-generic
    Architecture: x86-64

This is the fastest way to get information about distribution and machine architecture at once. You will need that in the next section.

4. uname -a

Classic one. This does not give you a name of the distribution, but still can be useful for other questions – kernel version, hostname, and architecture.

bash

uname -a

Sample output on an Ubuntu server:

plain

Linux web-01 6.14.0-15-generic #15-Ubuntu SMP x86_64 GNU/Linux

If nothing else works but uname, it means you are on a really old or really minimalistic system, which is important to know too.

How to find out your Linux distribution on really old systems?

If /etc/os-release file does not exist, you will need to look for distribution-specific release files:

bash

ls /etc/*release
cat /etc/redhat-release    # RHEL, CentOS, AlmaLinux, Rocky
cat /etc/debian_version    # Debian and its derivatives

Every possible way to determine Linux distro identity ends up with reading the same bunch of release files. Along with the four commands mentioned, you can figure out pretty much any Linux distribution from the past twenty years.

Section 2: How to find out distro version and architecture

Finding out the Linux distribution is just half the battle. For opening support tickets, writing installation scripts or downloading packages, you need an exact version and an architecture too.

Distribution version: The VERSION_ID field in /etc/os-release gives you a clean version number (26.04, 13, 10.2). If you need only the latter, source the file:

bash

. /etc/os-release && echo "$NAME $VERSION_ID"

Sample output on an Ubuntu server:

plain

Ubuntu 26.04

Architecture: several options, depending on the taste.

bash

uname -m        # x86_64, aarch64, armv7l...
arch            # the same as uname -m, shorter
dpkg --print-architecture   # Debian/Ubuntu nomenclature: amd64, arm64

Why do we have such redundancy? Nomenclature differs between ecosystems. A 64-bit Intel/AMD machine has the name x86_64 in the output of uname but amd64 in Debian package names, and a 64-bit ARM machine is called aarch64 in one place but arm64 in another. And that is the moment when people mistakenly download a package for the wrong architecture.

Kernel version: use uname -r for obtaining a running kernel version, which is necessary when hosting provider's documentation asks if your kernel supports a particular feature:

bash

uname -r

Sample output on an Ubuntu server:

plain

6.14.0-15-generic

And if you need all the information at once for opening a ticket:

bash

hostnamectl && echo "---" && . /etc/os-release && echo "$PRETTY_NAME"

Copy-paste that output in your ticket. If you are about to provision a fresh machine, check which OS images a provider offers before you order, so the distro you want is available from day one.

Section 3: Comparison of the top server distributions

Now the more interesting question – which Linux distribution should you choose to put on your server if you start from scratch? The five most popular Linux distributions in server and linux hosting services as of mid-2026 are listed below.

Table

Some additional notes about the table:

Ubuntu is the largest in terms of community and third-party documentation. Every software vendor publishes Linux installation guides first of all for Ubuntu. The drawback of Ubuntu is Canonical company pushing the use of Snap packages and selling you Ubuntu Pro.

Debian is a core of Ubuntu without the corporate touch. Its releases are conservative, the packages are battle-tested, and no company is controlling this project. On the downside, software versions in the stable repositories could be a year or more behind their upstreams.

AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux are replacements of discontinued CentOS Linux of 2020. Both are close to RHEL, so everything that works on RHEL works on AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux too. Difference in the 10 series is that Rocky Linux requires x86-64-v3 CPU instruction set (basically Intel processors released since 2013). AlmaLinux builds the x86-64-v2 version (older CPUs).

CentOS Stream is now placed ahead of RHEL, rather than behind it. This is a rolling preview of the next RHEL version. Useable for development and CI, but not for production workloads requiring tested changes.

Section 4: Which Linux distribution should you choose?

There is no single best server distro. Any of the five above will serve your purpose, and the difference between them is only at the margins. So match the Linux distribution to the task.

Web hosting

If you have cPanel control panel or any other control panel for web hosting, use AlmaLinux, the de facto standard for almalinux hosting environments – cPanel supports it directly, and it inherited the old CentOS user base. For a vanilla server with self-managed nginx/apache, both Ubuntu LTS and Debian are perfect. Ubuntu has more tutorials; Debian has less moving parts.

Development

For development purposes, Ubuntu LTS will always be better because of one simple reason – all tutorials, Docker images, CI templates assume Ubuntu exists. To test your application in a future RHEL production environment, use CentOS Stream or Rocky Linux.

Enterprise

If you need vendors support contracts, certified software and all compliance stuff, the actual question is RHEL or Ubuntu Pro or SUSE, and all the free Linux distributions are only stand-ins for testing. Among the free distributions, Rocky Linux aims to be bug-for-bug compatible with RHEL, and thus is the closest replacement to RHEL for free price. Debian is the silent choice for internal infrastructure that runs without problems forever.

Ubuntu vs Debian server, quick comparison

This question arises all the time, so let me clarify it fast – Ubuntu will be a better choice for those who prefer new packages, lots of tutorials and commercial support options. Debian will be better for those who love community-driven projects and are not afraid of using slightly outdated software. Both use apt package manager, both are highly reliable, and migration between them is relatively easy. Nothing bad happens if you choose any of them.

Decision flowchart

plain

START: What do you want to build?
│
├─ Want a cPanel/web hosting panel?
│      └─ YES -> AlmaLinux
│
├─ Require RHEL compatibility in production?
│      ├─ Development/Test environment -> CentOS Stream
│      ├─ Production, modern CPUs -> Rocky Linux
│      └─ Production, older hardware (before 2013) -> AlmaLinux (x86-64-v2 build)
│
├─ Need the largest community and newest tools?
│      └─ YES -> Ubuntu Server LTS
│
├─ Want a minimalistic, community-driven system?
│      └─ YES -> Debian stable
│
└─ Not sure?
      └─ Ubuntu LTS. It is the default option for a reason,
         and migration will be easier than overthinking right now.

FAQ

How to find out my Linux distribution from the command line?
Just run cat /etc/os-release. It works on virtually any Linux distribution and gives you distribution name, version and distribution family in a few lines.

What is the difference between uname and lsb_release?
uname provides information about kernel: version, hostname, and architecture. It never names your Linux distribution. lsb_release (/etc/os-release) provides information about distribution. Use cat /etc/os-release for distribution name and uname -m for architecture.

Is CentOS available for servers?
CentOS Linux is discontinued. CentOS 7 and 8 are end of life. What remains is CentOS Stream – rolling preview of RHEL. Most of the CentOS users switched to AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux.

Which Linux distribution is the easiest for a beginner to manage a server?
Ubuntu Server LTS. It has the largest set of tutorials, largest hardware compatibility and five years of support for every LTS version. Nearly all the problems were asked before you.

Conclusion

Identifying your Linux distribution is as easy as running cat /etc/os-release. Just add uname -m for architecture and hostnamectl if in one line, and you will be able to identify any system in seconds.

Choosing a Linux distribution for your next server is a little bit harder, but not much. Ubuntu LTS for general purposes and development, Debian for stability and lack of corporate management, AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux for RHEL compatibility or control panels. CentOS Stream for development targeting RHEL. Choose one, deploy it, and concentrate on the task that you are solving with your server.