20 Commands to Display System and Hardware Information in Linux

Linux, as a versatile operating system, offers a variety of commands to gather detailed information about your system’s hardware and software configurations. Whether you’re a system administrator, a developer, or a regular user, understanding how to retrieve this information can be incredibly useful. Below are 20 essential commands that can help you display system and hardware information in Linux.

1. uname -a

The uname command provides basic information about your system. By using the -a option, you can display all available system information, including the kernel name, version, and architecture.

Example:

uname -a

This command will output something like:

Linux yourhostname 5.15.0-50-generic #55-Ubuntu SMP Wed Sep 28 18:01:13 UTC 2022 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Here, you get the kernel version, system architecture, and other basic details.

2. lsb_release -a

The lsb_release command provides detailed information about the Linux distribution you are using. This includes the distributor ID, description, release number, and codename.

Example:

lsb_release -a

Output:

Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description:    Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Release:        22.04
Codename:       jammy

This is useful for identifying the exact version of your Linux distribution.

3. hostnamectl

The hostnamectl command provides comprehensive information about your system’s hostname and related details. It is particularly useful for checking the system’s static hostname, pretty hostname, and machine ID.

Example:

hostnamectl

Output:

   Static hostname: yourhostname
         Icon name: computer-vm
           Chassis: vm
        Machine ID: 68f2ebc12a5645d3b43207dc3f12c849
           Boot ID: 8d5e0983f1aa493fb6a6d50638b50712
  Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
            Kernel: Linux 5.15.0-50-generic
      Architecture: x86-64

4. df -h

The df command shows the amount of disk space used and available on all mounted filesystems. The -h option displays this information in a human-readable format (MB, GB).

Example:

df -h

Output:

Filesystem      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1        50G   25G   22G  54% /
tmpfs           1.9G  1.9M  1.9G   1% /dev/shm

5. free -h

The free command displays the amount of free and used memory in your system. The -h option shows the values in human-readable format.

Example:

free -h

Output:

              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:           7.8G        2.1G        4.8G        340M        854M        5.1G
Swap:          2.0G          0B        2.0G

6. lscpu

The lscpu command gathers and displays detailed information about the CPU architecture, including the number of CPUs, threads, cores, sockets, and more.

Example:

lscpu

Output:

Architecture:           x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):         32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:             Little Endian
CPU(s):                 4

7. lsblk

The lsblk command lists information about all available block devices on your system, such as hard drives and partitions, in a tree-like format.

Example:

lsblk

Output:

NAME   MAJ:MIN RM  SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda      8:0    0   50G  0 disk 
└─sda1   8:1    0   50G  0 part /

8. lspci

The lspci command lists all PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) devices connected to your system, such as graphics cards, network cards, and other peripherals.

Example:

lspci

Output:

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 440FX - 82441FX PMC [Natoma] (rev 02)
00:01.0 VGA compatible controller: Cirrus Logic GD 5446

9. lsusb

The lsusb command displays information about all USB (Universal Serial Bus) devices connected to your system.

Example:

lsusb

Output:

Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0003 Linux Foundation 3.0 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:c077 Logitech, Inc. M105 Optical Mouse

10. inxi -Fxz

The inxi command is a powerful tool that provides a comprehensive overview of your system’s hardware and software. The -Fxz options give a full output, omitting sensitive data like MAC addresses and serial numbers.

Example:

inxi -Fxz

Output:

System:    Host: yourhostname Kernel: 5.15.0-50-generic x86_64 (64 bit gcc: 7.5.0)
           Desktop: GNOME 3.36.2 (Gtk 3.24.20)
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i5-8250U (-MT-MCP-) cache: 6144 KB

11. dmidecode

The dmidecode command extracts hardware information from the system’s DMI (Desktop Management Interface) tables, including details about the BIOS, processor, and memory.

Example:

sudo dmidecode

Output (partial):

BIOS Information
    Vendor: Phoenix Technologies LTD
    Version: 6.00
    Release Date: 07/02/2020

12. top

The top command provides a dynamic view of system processes, including information about CPU and memory usage. It’s useful for monitoring system performance in real-time.

Example:

top

Output (partial):

top - 12:34:56 up  1:00,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.01, 0.05
Tasks: 112 total,   1 running, 111 sleeping,   0 stopped,   0 zombie
%Cpu(s):  1.0 us,  0.3 sy,  0.0 ni, 98.7 id,  0.0 wa,  0.0 hi,  0.0 si,  0.0 st

13. htop

Similar to top, the htop command provides a more user-friendly, interactive way to monitor system processes, resource usage, and performance.

Example:

htop

14. lshw

The lshw (list hardware) command provides detailed information about all hardware components of your system. It includes information on memory, CPU, disks, and network interfaces.

Example:

sudo lshw

Output (partial):

yourhostname                
    description: Notebook
    product: 20KGS05M00 (LENOVO_MT_20KG_BU_Think_FM_ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th)
    vendor: LENOVO

15. cat /proc/cpuinfo

The /proc/cpuinfo file contains detailed information about the CPU. By using the cat command, you can view all CPU details.

Example:

cat /proc/cpuinfo

Output (partial):

processor   : 0
vendor_id   : GenuineIntel
cpu family  : 6
model       : 142
model name  : Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-8550U CPU @ 1.80GHz

16. cat /proc/meminfo

Similar to cpuinfo, the /proc/meminfo file provides detailed information about the system’s memory usage.

Example:

cat /proc/meminfo

Output (partial):

MemTotal:        8168312 kB
MemFree:         4973644 kB
MemAvailable:    6012636 kB

17. lsmod

The lsmod command lists all the loaded kernel modules, which are pieces of code that can be loaded and unloaded into the kernel upon demand. These modules help in the functioning of various hardware components and system features.

Example:

lsmod

Output:

Module                  Size  Used by
snd_hda_codec_hdmi      53248  1
x86_pkg_temp_thermal    16384  0

This output shows the currently loaded kernel modules along with their size and the number of times they are used.

18. lscpu

The lscpu command displays detailed information about the CPU architecture of your system. This command provides essential details like the number of CPUs, cores, threads, sockets, and CPU family, which are crucial for understanding your system’s performance capabilities.

Example:

lscpu

Output:

Architecture:        x86_64
CPU op-mode(s):      32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:          Little Endian
CPU(s):              4
Thread(s) per core:  2

This output gives a comprehensive overview of your system’s CPU characteristics.

19. uptime

The uptime command tells you how long your system has been running. It also provides information about the number of users logged in and the system load averages for the past 1, 5, and 15 minutes.

Example:

uptime

Output:

 12:34:56 up  2:34,  1 user,  load average: 0.00, 0.01, 0.05

This command is useful for quickly assessing the stability and load of your system over time.

20. dmesg

The dmesg command displays the kernel ring buffer messages. These messages typically contain information about hardware, drivers, and other kernel-related details during system boot or runtime. It’s particularly useful for diagnosing hardware issues.

Example:

dmesg | less

Output (partial):

[    0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpuset
[    0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpu
[    0.000000] Initializing cgroup subsys cpuacct

The output can be quite extensive, so piping it through less helps you navigate through it more easily.

Conclusion

Understanding how to gather system and hardware information is essential for managing a Linux system effectively. The 20 commands discussed above provide comprehensive insights into various aspects of your system’s hardware and software configuration. These commands are not only useful for troubleshooting and system optimization but also help you better understand the underlying architecture of your Linux environment.

Whether you’re checking the CPU details with lscpu, monitoring memory usage with free, or viewing detailed hardware information with lshw, these commands equip you with the necessary tools to manage your system proficiently. By regularly using these commands, you can ensure that your system runs efficiently and is well-maintained.

Feel free to explore these commands and integrate them into your daily system management tasks. With practice, you’ll become more adept at using these powerful tools to extract valuable information about your Linux system.

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