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uname
Standard UNIX utility

uname (short for unix name) is a computer program in Unix and Unix-like computer operating systems that prints the name, version and other details about the current machine and the operating system running on it.

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History

The uname system call and command appeared for the first time in PWB/UNIX. Both are specified by POSIX.12 The GNU version of uname is included in the "sh-utils" or "coreutils" packages. uname itself is not available as a standalone program. The version of uname bundled in GNU coreutils was written by David MacKenzie.3 The command is available as a separate package for Microsoft Windows as part of the GnuWin32 project4 and the UnxUtils collection of native Win32 ports of common GNU Unix-like utilities.5

  • Some Unix variants, such as AT&T UNIX System V Release 3.0, include the related setname program, used to change the values that uname reports.
  • The ver command found in operating systems such as DOS, OS/2 and Microsoft Windows is similar to the uname command.
  • The bash shell provides the special variables OSTYPE and HOSTTYPE whose values are similar to those of uname -o and uname -m respectively.

Examples

On a system running Darwin, the output from running uname with the -a command-line argument might look like the text below:

$ uname -a Darwin Roadrunner.local 10.3.0 Darwin Kernel Version 10.3.0: Fri Feb 26 11:58:09 PST 2010; root:xnu-1504.3.12~1/RELEASE_I386 i386

The following table contains examples from various versions of uname on various platforms.6

DistributionSystem (or kernel) (-s)POSIXOperating System (or distribution) (-o)Machine (-m)POSIXProcessor (-p)Hardware platform (-i or -M)OS (kernel) version (-v)POSIXOS (kernel) release (-r)POSIX
Android 4.2.1 on Nexus 4LinuxGNU/Linuxarmv7lUn­knownUn­known#1 SMP PREEMPT Thu Nov 8 15:42:02 PST 20123.4.0-perf-ge039dcb
Android 2.3 on Meteorit netbookLinuxGNU/Linuxarmv6lUn­knownUn­known
any, coreutils 7.1LinuxGNU/Linuxsparc64sparc64UltraSPARC T1 (Niagara)(all)(all)
any, coreutils 7.1–8.4LinuxGNU/Linuxppc64ppc64PPC 970FX (XServe G5)(all)(all)
Arch LinuxLinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64Un­knownUn­known#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue, 04 Oct 2022 19:16:52 +00006.0.0-arch1-1
A/UX 3.1A/UXillegal optionmc68030illegal optionillegal optionSVR23.1
busybox-w32 1.27 (32-bit) on Windows 10Windows_NTMS/Windowsi686Un­knownUn­known92006.2
busybox-w32 1.27 (64-bit) on Wine 2.0Windows_NTMS/Windowsx86_64Un­knownUn­known37905.2
CentOS 6.5, Pentium SU4100LinuxGNU/Linuxi686i686i386#1 SMP Fri Nov 22 00:26:36 UTC 20132.6.32-431.el6.i686
Cray UNICOS 9.0.2.2sn5176illegal optionCRAY Y-MPillegal optionillegal optionsin.09.0.2.2
Cygwin (Windows XP), Pentium 4CYGWIN_NT-5.1Cygwini686Un­knownUn­known2006-01-20 13:281.5.19(0.150/4/2)
Cygwin 1.7 (Windows 7 32-bit), Core i7CYGWIN_NT-6.1Cygwini686Un­knownUn­known2012-07-20 22:551.7.16(0.262/5/3)
Cygwin 1.7 (Windows 7 64-bit), Core i7CYGWIN_NT-6.1-WOW64Cygwini686Un­knownUn­known2012-05-09 10:251.7.15(0.260/5/3)
Cygwin 1.7 64 bit (Windows 7 64-bit)CYGWIN_NT-6.1Cygwinx86_64Un­knownUn­known2014-02-09 21:061.7.28(0.271/5/3)
Cygwin 2.2 64 bit (Windows 10 64-bit)CYGWIN_NT-10.0Cygwinx86_64Un­knownUn­known2015-08-20 11:422.2.1(0.289/5/3)
DJGPP v2 32 bit (Windows Server 2008)MS-DOSillegal optioni686illegal optionillegal option505
Debian 6.0.5 on Raspberry Pi BLinuxGNU/Linuxarmv6lUn­knownunknown (-i) invalid (-M)#90 Wed Apr 18 18:23:05 BST 2012 / #538 PREEMPT Fri Aug 30 20:42:08 BST 20133.1.9+ / 3.6.11+
Debian on WD MyBookLiveLinuxGNU/LinuxppcUn­knownunknown (-i) invalid (-M)#1 Fri Oct 15 17:13:23 PDT 20102.6.32.11-svn21605
Debian GNU/HurdGNUGNUi686-AT386Un­knownunknown (-i) illegal option (-M)GNU-Mach 1.3.99-486/Hurd-0.30.3
Debian GNU/kFreeBSD 6.0, AMDGNU/kFreeBSDGNU/kFreeBSDx86_64amd64AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 3000+#0 Thu Nov 26 04:22:59 CET 20098.0-1-amd64
DragonFlyBSDDragonFlyillegal optioni386i386GENERICDragonFly v2.13.0.749.g93fef-DEVELOPMENT #0: …2.13-DEVELOPMENT
DragonFlyBSD 2.7, AMD64DragonFlyillegal optionx86_64x86_64[filename of kernel conf file]DragonFly v2.7.3.122.g0ba92-DEVELOPMENT #0: Tue June 8 16:50:35 CEST 20102.7-DEVELOPMENT root@Chance.: /usr/obj/usr/src/sys/X86_64_GENERIC
Fedora 19LinuxGNU/Linuxi686i686i386#1 SMP Fri Mar 7 17:22:54 UTC 20143.13.6-100.fc19.i686
FreeBSD 6.1, IntelFreeBSDillegal optioni386i386[kernel name from kernel conf file. i.e.: GENERIC]FreeBSD 6.1-RELEASE-p15 #1: Sun Apr 15 18:04:51 EDT 20076.1-RELEASE-p15
FreeBSD 9.0, IntelFreeBSDFreeBSDamd64amd64[kernel name from kernel conf file. i.e.: GENERIC]FreeBSD 9.0-RELEASE #0: Tue Jan 3 07:46:30 UTC 2012 [email protected]:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC9.0-RELEASE
Gentoo, UltraSparc IIeLinuxGNU/Linuxsparc64sun4uTI UltraSparc IIe (Hummingbird)#1 SMP Wed Nov 10 02:04:26 CET 20102.6.34-gentoo-r12
Haiku R1/Alpha 1, QEMUHaikuHaikuBePCUn­knownUn­knownr33109 Sep 12 2009 17:45:451
HP-UXHP-UXillegal option9000/712illegal option[Unique machine ID number or node name if cannot be determined.]UB.11.11
HP-UX 11i v3HP-UXillegal optionia64illegal option[Unique machine ID number or node name if cannot be determined.]UB.11.31
GNU HurdGNUGNUi686-AT386unknownunknownGNU-Mach 1.8+git20190109-486/Hurd-0.90.9
IBM AIX PS/2 v1.3AIXillegal optioni386illegal optionillegal option13.0
IBM AIX 5.3AIXillegal option(serial number of machine)powerpcIBM,8205-E6B53
IBM AIX 7.1AIXillegal option(serial number of machine)powerpcIBM,7891-73X71
IBM AIX 7.2AIXillegal option(serial number of machine)powerpcIBM,9009-42A72
IBM i 5.3 with QSHOS400(hostname)(serial number of machine)Un­knownUn­known53
IBM i 6.1 with QSHOS400(hostname)(serial number of machine)Un­knownUn­known61
IBM i 7.1 with QSHOS400(hostname)(serial number of machine)Un­knownUn­known71
Interix (Windows Services for UNIX) 3.5Interixillegal optionx86Intel_x86_Family6_Model28_Stepping10illegal option10.0.7063.06.1
Interix, Subsystem for Unix-based Applications (SUA), AMD64 6.1 (Windows 2008 R2)Interix-genuineintelIntel64_Family_6_Model_26_Stepping_4-10.0.7063.06.1
IRIXIRIXillegal optionIP22mipsillegal option
IRIX 6.5.30, Origin 2000IRIX64illegal optionIP30

IP35

mipsillegal option072020136.5
Linux Mint 10 "Julia" 64-bitLinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64Un­knownUn­known#33-Ubuntu SMP Sun Sep 19 20:32:27 UTC 20102.6.35-22-generic
Linux on Xeon PhiLinuxGNU/Linuxk1omk1omk1om#2 SMP Fri Jun 21 13:43:31 EDT 20132.6.38.8-g2593b11
Mac OS X Panther 10.3, PowerBook G4 (2004)Darwinillegal optionPower Macintoshpowerpcillegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 7.8.0: Wed Dec 22 14:26:17 PST 2004; root:xnu/xnu-517.11.1.obj~1/RELEASE_PPC7.8.0
Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6, MacBook3,1 (Late 2007)Darwinillegal optioni386i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 10.0.0: Fri Jul 31 22:47:34 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1456.1.25~1/RELEASE_I38610.0.0
Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 build 11D50, MacbookPro7,1 (Late 2010)Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 11.3.0: Thu Jan 12 18:47:41 PST 2012; root:xnu-1699.24.23~1/RELEASE_X86_6411.3.0
OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.3 build 12D78, MacbookPro10,1 (Mid 2012)Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 12.3.0: Sun Jan 6 22:37:10 PST 2013; root:xnu-2050.22.13~1/RELEASE_X86_6412.3.0
OS X Mavericks 10.9 build 13A598, MacbookPro5,1 (Mid 2009)Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 13.0.0: Thu Sep 19 22:22:27 PDT 2013; root:xnu-2422.1.72~6/RELEASE_X86_6413.0.0
OS X Yosemite 10.10 build 14A298i, MacbookPro6,2 (Mid 2010)Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 14.0.0: Tue Jul 15 23:56:31 PDT 2014; root:xnu-2782.1.43.0.2~1/RELEASE_X86_6414.0.0
OS X El Capitan 10.11 build 15A284, MacBookPro10,1 (Mid 2012)Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 15.0.0: Sat Sep 19 15:53:46 PDT 2015; root:xnu-3247.10.11~1/RELEASE_X86_6415.0.0
macOS Sierra 10.12 build 16E195, MacBookPro12,1 (Early 2015)Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 16.5.0: Fri Mar 3 16:52:33 PST 2017; root:xnu-3789.51.2~3/RELEASE_X86_6416.5.0
macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 build 17D47, MacBookPro12,1 (Early 2015)Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 17.4.0: Sun Dec 17 09:19:54 PST 2017; root:xnu-4570.41.2~1/RELEASE_X86_6417.4.0
macOS Mojave 10.14.3 build 18D109Darwinillegal optionx86_64i386illegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 18.2.0: Thu Dec 20 20:46:53 PST 2018; root:xnu-4903.241.1~1/RELEASE_X86_6418.2.0
macOS Catalina 10.15.5 build 19F101DarwinDarwinx86_64i386MacBookPro15.1Darwin Kernel Version 19.5.0: Tue May 26 20:41:44 PDT 2020; root:xnu-6153.121.2~2/RELEASE_X86_6419.5.0
macOS Big Sur 11.0.1 build 20B29 on Apple M1Darwinillegal optionarm64armillegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 20.1.0: Sat Oct 31 00:07:10 PDT 2020; root:xnu-7195.50.7~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T810120.1.0
macOS Monterey 12.2.1 build 21D627 on Apple M1Darwinillegal optionarm64armillegal optionDarwin Kernel Version 21.3.0: Wed Jan 5 21:37:58 PST 2022; root:xnu-8019.80.24~20/RELEASE_ARM64_T810121.3.0
Manjaro Linux 0.8.11 64 bitLinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64Un­knownUn­known#1 SMP PREEMPT Sat Nov 15 10:54:42 UTC 20143.17.3-1-MANJARO
MidnightBSD 1.0, IntelMidnightBSDMidnightBSDamd64amd64[kernel name from kernel conf file. i.e.: GENERIC]MidnightBSD 1.0 #5 r11989M: Sat Aug 11 13:20:45 EDT 2018 [email protected]:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/GENERIC1.0
MINIX 3.1.7, x86Minixillegal optioni686i386illegal option1.73
MinGW 32 bit (Windows 7)MINGW32_NT-6.1Msysi686Un­knownUn­known2018-11-26 09:222.11.2(0.329/5/3)
MinGW 64 bit (Windows 7)MINGW64_NT-6.1Msysx86_64Un­knownUn­known2018-11-26 09:222.11.2(0.329/5/3)
MSYS 32 bit (Windows 7)MSYS_NT-6.1Msysi686Un­knownUn­known2018-11-26 09:222.11.2(0.329/5/3)
MSYS 64 bit (Windows 7)MSYS_NT-6.1Msysx86_64Un­knownUn­known2018-11-26 09:222.11.2(0.329/5/3)
NetBSDNetBSDUn­knowni386i386Un­knownNetBSD 6.0.1 (GENERIC)6.0.1
NonStop OS H06 25NONSTOP_KERNELUn­knownNSE-TUn­knownH0625Un­known
NonStop OS J06 14NONSTOP_KERNELUn­knownNSE-ABUn­knownJ0614Un­known
OpenBSD 5.4OpenBSDillegal optionamd64amd64illegal optionGENERIC.MP#15.4
openSUSE 10.3, Core2-duo 64-bitLinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64x86_64x86_64#1 SMP 2007/09/21 22:29:00 UTC2.6.22.5-31-default
openSUSE TumbleweedLinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64x86_64x86_64#1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon Feb 17 10:42:46 UTC 2025 (36519ec)6.13.3-1-default
OpenWRT Barrier Breaker r40420 on TL-WR1043NDLinuxGNU/LinuxmipsUn­knownunknown (-i) invalid (-M)#1 Tue Apr 8 06:30:07 UTC 20143.10.34
QNXQNX–x86pcx86–2010/07/09-14:44:03EDT6.5.0
Red Hat Linux, Fedora Core 6, AMD Turion64 mobileLinuxGNU/Linuxi686athloni386#1 SMP Wed Jan 10 19:28:18 EST 20072.6.19-1.2895.fc6
ReliantUNIXReliantUNIX-YRM600R4000B20055.45
SINIXSINIX-YRM600R40005.43
Solaris 2.5.1 Intel Platform EditionSunOSSolarisi86pci386i86pcGeneric_103641-425.5.1
Solaris 8SunOSillegal optionsun4usparcSUNW, UltraAX-i2Generic_117350-505.8
Solaris 9, Sun Fire 280RSunOSillegal optionsun4usparcSUNW, Sun-Fire-280RGeneric_112233-085.9
Solaris 10, Sun Fire V490SunOSillegal optionsun4usparcSUNW, Sun-Fire-V490Generic_142900-135.10
Solaris 11.1, Sun Fire X4540SunOSillegal optioni86pci386i86pc11.15.11
OpenIndianaSunOSillegal optioni86pci386i86pcoi_151a85.11
OpenIndiana Hipster 2018.04SunOSSolarisi86pci386i86pcillumos-47b8d4b8845.11
OpenIndiana Hipster 2021.10SunOS illumosi86pci386i86pcillumos-b12aaafbf55.11
SmartOSSunOS illumosi86pci386i86pcjoyent_20250206T001102Z5.11
OmniOSSunOSillegal optioni86pci386i86pcomnios-a7084245.11
Tru64OSF1invalidalphaalphainvalid2650V5.1
Ubuntu 11.04LinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64x86_64x86_64#46-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jun 28 15:07:17 UTC 20112.6.38-10-generic
Ubuntu 12.0.4 on Pandaboard ESLinuxGNU/Linuxarmv7larmv7larmv7l#33-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT Sat Jan 26 00:46:04 UTC 20133.2.0-1425-omap4
Ubuntu 20.0.4LTS on Raspberry Pi 4 Model BLinuxGNU/Linuxaarch64aarch64aarch64#20-Ubuntu SMP Sun Sep 6 05:11:16 UTC 20205.4.0-1018-raspi
UltrixULTRIX–VAX––04.5
Unity LinuxLinuxGNU/Linuxi686Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2520M CPU @ 2.50 GHzunknown (-i) invalid (-M)#1 SMP Fri Oct 1 16:46:58 UTC 20102.6.35.7-unity1
UnxUtils 2007 32 bit (Windows Server 2008)WindowsNTillegal optionx86illegal optionillegal option60
(SCO) OpenServer 5.0.6SCO_SV(hostname)i386i386illegal5.0.63.2
(SCO) System VSCO_SVillegali386i386illegal6.0.05
(SCO) UnixWare 7.1.4UnixWareillegal optioni386x86at-i hardware serial/license number, .e.g. 1AB000123 or NUL000000; -M is illegal option7.1.45
UWIN (64 bit Windows 7), Intel Core i5UWIN-W7UWINi686-64x6464/642012-06-265.0/6.1
SYS$UNIX:SH on OpenVMS on VAX emulatorIS/WBillegal optionvax-6340illegal optionillegal optionstd5.0
z/OS USSOS/390Un­known2097Un­known-i/-M: unknown option; -I: z/OS0322.00
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), Ubuntu 18.04LinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64x86_64x86_64#476-Microsoft Fri Nov 01 16:53:00 PST 20194.4.0-18362-Microsoft
Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL2), Ubuntu 20.04LinuxGNU/Linuxx86_64x86_64x86_64#1 SMP Wed Aug 25 23:20:18 UTC 20215.10.60.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2

See also

Footnotes

The Wikibook Guide to Unix has a page on the topic of: Commands

References

  1. uname. The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7/IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition. Specifies the command. http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/uname.html ↩

  2. uname. The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7/IEEE Std 1003.1, 2013 Edition. Specifies the function/system call. http://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/functions/uname.html ↩

  3. uname(1) – Linux User Manual – User Commands https://manned.org/uname.1 ↩

  4. CoreUtils for Windows http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/coreutils.htm ↩

  5. Native Win32 ports of some GNU utilities http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/ ↩

  6. These are merely meant to broadly represent common systems; actual output may vary depending on hardware type, OS version, and which software patches have been installed. ↩

  7. Find out which macOS your Mac is using https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201260 ↩