Ever wondered what is the kernel version used by the Linux distro you are using? If so, you can use the command of uname.

Uname is a Linux command used to get some information regarding the kernel used by the distro you use. This tool is written by David MacKenzie and comes with a number options to get a more specific information. In addition, you can also use uname to get the information about the architecture of your processor.

What is kernel?

Simply put, kernel is the core of an operating system. The program of kernel works on the lowest layer of an operating system, interacts directly with the hardware. In an operating system, kernel plays a role to handle input/output requests from software, translating them into data-processing instructions for the central processing unit. Kernel is the first program loaded on start-up, right after the bootloader. Kernel is the connecting bridge between system hardware and applications. The image below explains the position of kernel on an operating system.

Back to our topic.

To check the kernel version used by the Linux distro you use, you can use the uname command followed by the option of r.

uname -r

If you run the command of uname without adding any option, it will display the kernel name — Linux in this case. To see all of the available options, you can type uname --helpon the terminal.