How do I check what platform (OS) I'm running in Python 2.7?

Question

Is there any way to check what platform I'm running with Python 2.7? For example using the platform module:

import platform
print platform.system()
print platform.release()

I get:

Linux
2.6.32-312-ec2

But if I read from the file /etc/issue by running a Linux command line command within Python I can get exactly what platform I'm running:

import command
print commands.getoutput('cat /etc/issue')

.

 Debian GNU/Linux 6.0 \n \l

Is there any other way in Python to know that I'm running Debian GNU Linux 6.0?

related: When to use os.name, sys.platform, or platform.system? — jfs
– jfs, Commented Mar 12, 2014 at 20:50

anon582847382 · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-12 20:53:30Z

2

I prefer sys.platform to get the platform. sys.platform will distinguish between linux, other unixes, and OS X while os.name is more general.

These are done by:

import sys
print(sys.platform)

import os
print(os.name)

For much more detailed information, use the platform module. This has cross-platform functions that will give you information on the machine architecture, OS and OS version, version of Python, etc. Also it has os-specific functions to get things like the particular linux distribution.

A small example, which actually seems the best way to do what you want:

import platform
print(platform.platform())

edited Mar 12, 2014 at 20:53

answered Mar 12, 2014 at 20:47

anon582847382

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anon582847382 · Accepted Answer · 2014-11-01 18:39:01Z

2

Probably platform.uname() or platform.platform()

at a guess at least (or potentially sys.platform may provide sufficient data)

For example:

import platform
print(platform.platform())

import sys
print(sys.platform)

import os
print(os.name)

edited Nov 1, 2014 at 18:39

anon582847382

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answered Mar 12, 2014 at 20:46

Joran Beasley

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Comments

perymerdeka · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-17 15:53:41Z

1

try in your python2 interpreter

>>> import platform
>>> print(platform.platform())
Linux-5.4.0-56-generic-x86_64-with-Ubuntu-20.04-focal
>>> 
>>> import sys
>>> print(sys.platform)
linux2
>>> 
>>> import os
>>> print(os.name)
posix
>>>

answered Dec 17, 2020 at 15:53

perymerdeka

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