Check OS

Find what the current OS is using shell commands.

Display

OSTYPE variable

echo $OSTYPE

OS	Example value
Linux	`linux-gnu`
macOS	`darwin19.0`

uname command

See uname manpage.

$ uname

e.g.

OS	Example `uname` value
Linux	`Linux`
macOS	`Darwin`

Using uname in a conditional using contains and -s flag. I’ve seen this approach used before.

if [[ "$(uname -s)" =~ 'Linux' ]]; then
  echo 'Linux!'
fi

Set boolean

This was based on Grails quickstart which uses case and uname.

IS_MAC=false
IS_LINUX=false

case "$(uname)" in
  Darwin* )
    IS_MAC=true
    ;;
  Linux* )
    IS_LINUX=true
    ;;
esac

Example use:

if [[ $IS_MAC == 'true' ]]; then
  echo 'Hello, macOS!'
fi

Inline control flow

Perform a check inline to produce a string. Note this could be improved by first storing a value.

$ echo "Hello $([[ "$OSTYPE" == darwin* ]] && echo 'Mac')"

Result if Mac: Hello Mac
Result if not Mac: Hello

Check OS flavor

Is Linux Lite

linuxliteos.com

Linux Lite uses a text file which includes the version.

IS_LINUX_LITE=$([[ -f /etc/llver ]] && echo 'true' || echo 'false')

if [[ -f /etc/llver ]]; then
  IS_LINUX_LITE=true
else
  IS_LINUX_LITE=false
fi

Release

$ less /etc/*release

Example for Linux Lite 5, which uses Debian and Ubuntu.

lsb-release

  DISTRIB_ID=Ubuntu
  DISTRIB_RELEASE=20.04
  DISTRIB_CODENAME=focal
  DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION="Linux Lite 5.0"

os-release

  NAME="Ubuntu"
  VERSION="20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa)"
  ID=ubuntu
  ID_LIKE=debian
  PRETTY_NAME="Linux Lite 5.0"
  VERSION_ID="20.04"
  HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
  SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
  BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
  PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
  VERSION_CODENAME=focal
  UBUNTU_CODENAME=focal