Linux Pocket Guide, 4th Edition

Chapter 5. Networking Commands

Host Information

uname	Print basic system information.
hostname	Print the system’s hostname.
ip	Set and display network interface information.

Every Linux machine or host has a name, a network IP address, and other properties. Here’s how to display this information.

uname	stdin	stdout	- file	-- opt	--help	--version
uname [options]

The uname command prints fundamental information about the OS, particularly the kernel:

→ uname -a
Linux myhost 5.15.0-76-generic #83-Ubuntu
 SMP Thu Jun 15 19:16:32 UTC 2023 x86_64
 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

This includes the kernel name (Linux), hostname (myhost), kernel release (5.15.0-76-generic), kernel version (#83-Ubuntu SMP Thu Jun 15 19:16:32 UTC 2023), hardware name (x86_64), processor type (also x86_64), hardware platform (also x86_64) and OS name (GNU/Linux).

Useful options

-a	All information
-s	Only the kernel name (the default)
-n	Only the hostname, as with the hostname command
-r	Only the kernel release
-v	Only the kernel version
-m	Only the hardware name
-p	Only the processor type
-i	Only the hardware platform
-o	Only the OS name

hostname	stdin	stdout	- file	-- opt	--help	--version
hostname [options] [name]

The hostname command prints the name of your computer. Depending on how you have things set up, this might be the fully qualified hostname:

→ hostname
myhost.example.com

or your short hostname:

→ hostname
myhost

You can also set your hostname, as root: ...