How to Check Linux Kernel Version?

1. uname

You can run

$ uname -r

to obtain the kernel version. Which should give you something like:

4.14.243-185.433.amzn2.x86_64

Each number, separated by a dot or hyphen, is part of a code:

4 – This is the main kernel version
.14 – This is the major release version
.243 – This is the minor revision level
-185.4333.amzn2.x86_64 – This is the level of patches and bug fixes

Alternatively, uname -a will give all of the information regarding operating system, kernel release and kernel version.

2. hostnamectl

3. cat /proc/version

4. dmesg | grep Linux