man/os-release.xml

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   9   Copyright 2010 Lennart Poettering
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  24
  25 <refentry id="os-release">
  26         <refentryinfo>
  27                 <title>os-release</title>
  28                 <productname>systemd</productname>
  29
  30                 <authorgroup>
  31                         <author>
  32                                 <contrib>Developer</contrib>
  33                                 <firstname>Lennart</firstname>
  34                                 <surname>Poettering</surname>
  35                                 <email>lennart@poettering.net</email>
  36                         </author>
  37                 </authorgroup>
  38         </refentryinfo>
  39
  40         <refmeta>
  41                 <refentrytitle>os-release</refentrytitle>
  42                 <manvolnum>5</manvolnum>
  43         </refmeta>
  44
  45         <refnamediv>
  46                 <refname>os-release</refname>
  47                 <refpurpose>Operating system identification</refpurpose>
  48         </refnamediv>
  49
  50         <refsynopsisdiv>
  51                 <para><filename>/etc/os-release</filename></para>
  52         </refsynopsisdiv>
  53
  54         <refsect1>
  55                 <title>Description</title>
  56
  57                 <para>The <filename>/etc/os-release</filename> file
  58                 contains operating system identification data.</para>
  59
  60                 <para>The basic file format of
  61                 <filename>os-release</filename> is a
  62                 newline-separated list of environment-like
  63                 shell-compatible variable assignments. It is possible
  64                 to source the configuration from shell scripts,
  65                 however, beyond mere variable assignments no shell
  66                 features are supported, allowing applications to read
  67                 the file without implementing a shell compatible
  68                 execution engine.</para>
  69
  70                 <para><filename>/etc/os-release</filename> contains
  71                 data that is defined by the operating system vendor
  72                 and should not be changed by the administrator.</para>
  73
  74                 <para>Depending on the operating system other
  75                 configuration files might be checked for OS
  76                 identification as well, however only as
  77                 fallback.</para>
  78         </refsect1>
  79
  80         <refsect1>
  81                 <title>Options</title>
  82
  83                 <para>The following OS identifications parameters may be set using
  84                 <filename>/etc/os-release</filename>:</para>
  85
  86                 <variablelist>
  87
  88                         <varlistentry>
  89                                 <term><varname>NAME=</varname></term>
  90
  91                                 <listitem><para>A string identifying
  92                                 the operating system, without a
  93                                 version string, and not necessarily
  94                                 suitable for presentation to the
  95                                 user. If not set defaults to
  96                                 <literal>Linux</literal>. Example:
  97                                 <literal>NAME=Fedora</literal> or
  98                                 <literal>NAME="Debian
  99                                 GNU/Linux"</literal>.</para></listitem>
 100                         </varlistentry>
 101
 102                         <varlistentry>
 103                                 <term><varname>VERSION=</varname></term>
 104
 105                                 <listitem><para>A string identifying
 106                                 the operating system version,
 107                                 excluding any name information and
 108                                 suitable for presentation to the
 109                                 user. Example:
 110                                 <literal>VERSION=15</literal> or
 111                                 <literal>VERSION="15
 112                                 (Rawhide)"</literal>.</para></listitem>
 113                         </varlistentry>
 114
 115                         <varlistentry>
 116                                 <term><varname>ID=</varname></term>
 117
 118                                 <listitem><para>A lower-case string
 119                                 identifying the operating system,
 120                                 excluding any version information and
 121                                 suitable for processing by scripts. If
 122                                 not set defaults to
 123                                 <literal>linux</literal>. Example:
 124                                 <literal>ID=fedora</literal>.</para></listitem>
 125                         </varlistentry>
 126
 127                         <varlistentry>
 128                                 <term><varname>VERSION_ID=</varname></term>
 129
 130                                 <listitem><para>A lower-case string
 131                                 (mostly numeric) identifying the
 132                                 operating system version, excluding
 133                                 any name information and suitable for
 134                                 processing by scripts. Example:
 135                                 <literal>VERSION_ID=15</literal>.</para></listitem>
 136                         </varlistentry>
 137
 138                         <varlistentry>
 139                                 <term><varname>PRETTY_NAME=</varname></term>
 140
 141                                 <listitem><para>A pretty operating
 142                                 system name in a format suitable for
 143                                 presentation to the user. May or may
 144                                 not contain an OS version of some
 145                                 kind, as suitable. If not set defaults
 146                                 to <literal>Linux</literal>. Example:
 147                                 <literal>PRETTY_NAME=Fedora 15
 148                                 (Rawhide)</literal>.</para></listitem>
 149                         </varlistentry>
 150
 151                         <varlistentry>
 152                                 <term><varname>ANSI_COLOR=</varname></term>
 153
 154                                 <listitem><para>A suggested
 155                                 presentation color when showing the
 156                                 distribution name on the console. This
 157                                 should be specified as string suitable
 158                                 for inclusion in the ESC [ m
 159                                 ANSI/ECMA-48 escape code for setting
 160                                 graphical rendition. Example:
 161                                 <literal>ANSI_COLOR=0;31</literal> for
 162                                 red, or
 163                                 <literal>ANSI_COLOR=1;34</literal> for
 164                                 light blue.</para></listitem>
 165                         </varlistentry>
 166                 </variablelist>
 167
 168                 <para>If you are reading this file from code or a
 169                 shell script to determine the OS or a specific version
 170                 of it, use the ID and VERSION_ID fields. When looking
 171                 for an OS identification string for presentation to
 172                 the user use the PRETTY_NAME field.</para>
 173
 174                 <para>Note that operating system vendors may choose
 175                 not to provide version information, for example to
 176                 accommodate for rolling releases. In this case VERSION
 177                 and VERSION_ID may be unset. Applications should not
 178                 rely on these fields to be set.</para>
 179         </refsect1>
 180
 181         <refsect1>
 182                 <title>Example</title>
 183
 184                 <programlisting>NAME=Fedora
 185 VERSION="15 (Rawhide)"
 186 ID=fedora
 187 VERSION_ID=15
 188 PRETTY_NAME="Fedora 15 (Rawhide)"
 189 ANSI_COLOR=0;34</programlisting>
 190         </refsect1>
 191
 192         <refsect1>
 193                   <title>See Also</title>
 194                   <para>
 195                           <citerefentry><refentrytitle>systemd</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 196                           <citerefentry><refentrytitle>lsb_release</refentrytitle><manvolnum>1</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 197                           <citerefentry><refentrytitle>hostname</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 198                           <citerefentry><refentrytitle>machine-id</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>,
 199                           <citerefentry><refentrytitle>machine-info</refentrytitle><manvolnum>5</manvolnum></citerefentry>
 200                   </para>
 201         </refsect1>
 202
 203 </refentry>