Linux is a free and open-source operating system that runs on a wide range of hardware platforms, including 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Knowing whether your Linux kernel is 32-bit or 64-bit is important when installing software, as some software is designed for specific architectures.
In this guide, we will show you how to determine if your Linux kernel is 32-bit or 64-bit.
Step 1: Open the Terminal
First, open the terminal on your Linux system. You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard or by searching for “terminal” in the application launcher.
Step 2: Run the ‘uname -a’ Command
Once you have the terminal open, run the following command:
uname -a
This command will display information about your Linux system, including the kernel version and architecture.
Step 3: Check the Output
Look for the part of the output that specifies the architecture of the kernel. It will look something like this:
Linux ubuntu 5.4.0-1041-aws #44~18.04.2-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 26 23:49:08 UTC 2021 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
In this example, the architecture is x86_64, which means the kernel is 64-bit. If the architecture is i686 or i386, then the kernel is 32-bit.
Options:
[root@vps ~]# uname -m x86_64
or
[root@vps ~]# uname -r 2.6.32-431.el6.x86_64
Full uname command options:
[root@vps ~]# uname --help
Usage: uname [OPTION]...
Print certain system information. With no OPTION, same as -s.
-a, --all print all information, in the following order,
except omit -p and -i if unknown:
-s, --kernel-name print the kernel name
-n, --nodename print the network node hostname
-r, --kernel-release print the kernel release
-v, --kernel-version print the kernel version
-m, --machine print the machine hardware name
-p, --processor print the processor type or "unknown"
-i, --hardware-platform print the hardware platform or "unknown"
-o, --operating-system print the operating system
--help display this help and exit
--version output version information and exit
Commands Mentioned:
- uname – Display information about the Linux system
Conclusion
In this guide, we have shown you how to determine if your Linux kernel is 32-bit or 64-bit. By running the uname -a command in the terminal, you can easily check the architecture of your kernel. Knowing whether your kernel is 32-bit or 64-bit is important when installing software, as some software is designed for specific architectures. We hope this guide has been helpful to you. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements, please feel free to share them below.
