The Problem
While executing the command “lsb_release -r” to display the release number of the currently installed distribution, user gets below error:
# lsb_release -v -bash: lsb_release: command not found
How this can be resolved?
The Solution
To check the RedHat/CentOS version one can use the “lsb_release” command. In most cases, the package providing this command is not installed by default on the systems. To check which package provides the lsb_release command use the below command:
For CentOS/RHEL 7
# yum whatprovides lsb_release Loaded plugins: fastestmirror Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile epel/x86_64/metalink | 16 kB 00:00:00 * base: mirrors.advancedhosters.com * epel: mirror.umd.edu * extras: mirrors.advancedhosters.com * nux-dextop: li.nux.ro * updates: mirrors.advancedhosters.com ... redhat-lsb-core-4.1-27.el7.centos.1.i686 : LSB Core module support Repo : base Matched from: Filename : /usr/bin/lsb_release
For CentOS/RHEL 8:
# yum whatprovides lsb_release Last metadata expiration check: 28 days, 20:55:23 ago on Sat 07 Sep 2019 04:57:53 PM UTC. redhat-lsb-core-4.1-47.el8.x86_64 : LSB Core module support Repo : rhel-8-appstream-rhui-rpms Matched from: Filename : /usr/bin/lsb_release redhat-lsb-core-4.1-47.el8.i686 : LSB Core module support Repo : rhel-8-appstream-rhui-rpms Matched from: Filename : /usr/bin/lsb_release
As shown above, lsb_release command is provided by the package “redhat-lsb-core”. This package may not be present by default on the system and you may need to install it first. Use the below command to install the package in CentOS/RHEL 7 and 8 systems:
# yum install redhat-lsb-core
Or
# yum install redhat-lsb
I prefer installing “redhat-lsb-core” instead of “redhat-lsb” as it requires lesser package dependencies. If you do not specifically need “redhat-lsb” package, I would suggest installing the core package only.
For CentOS/RHEL 8 you can also use dnf to install the package:
# dnf install redhat-lsb-core
Sample output:
# dnf install redhat-lsb-core Last metadata expiration check: 0:15:19 ago on Sun 06 Oct 2019 01:57:17 PM UTC. Dependencies resolved. ============================================================================================================================================================================================================ Package Arch Version Repository Size ============================================================================================================================================================================================================ Installing: redhat-lsb-core x86_64 4.1-47.el8 rhel-8-appstream-rhui-rpms 45 k Installing dependencies: cups-client x86_64 1:2.2.6-25.el8 rhel-8-appstream-rhui-rpms 167 k redhat-lsb-submod-security x86_64 4.1-47.el8 rhel-8-appstream-rhui-rpms 22 k bc x86_64 1.07.1-5.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 129 k mailx x86_64 12.5-29.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 257 k spax x86_64 1.5.3-13.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 217 k ncurses-compat-libs x86_64 6.1-7.20180224.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 331 k time x86_64 1.9-3.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 54 k util-linux-user x86_64 2.32.1-8.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 97 k postfix x86_64 2:3.3.1-8.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 1.5 M ed x86_64 1.14.2-4.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 82 k at x86_64 3.1.20-11.el8 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 81 k patch x86_64 2.7.6-9.el8_0 rhel-8-baseos-rhui-rpms 138 k Transaction Summary ============================================================================================================================================================================================================ Install 13 Packages Total download size: 3.0 M Installed size: 7.6 M Is this ok [y/N]: y Downloading Packages: (1/13): redhat-lsb-submod-security-4.1-47.el8.x86_64.rpm 220 kB/s | 22 kB 00:00 (2/13): redhat-lsb-core-4.1-47.el8.x86_64.rpm 448 kB/s | 45 kB 00:00 (3/13): cups-client-2.2.6-25.el8.x86_64.rpm 1.4 MB/s | 167 kB 00:00 (4/13): bc-1.07.1-5.el8.x86_64.rpm 1.2 MB/s | 129 kB 00:00 (5/13): mailx-12.5-29.el8.x86_64.rpm 2.2 MB/s | 257 kB 00:00 (6/13): spax-1.5.3-13.el8.x86_64.rpm 1.9 MB/s | 217 kB 00:00 (7/13): ncurses-compat-libs-6.1-7.20180224.el8.x86_64.rpm 3.0 MB/s | 331 kB 00:00 (8/13): time-1.9-3.el8.x86_64.rpm 506 kB/s | 54 kB 00:00 (9/13): util-linux-user-2.32.1-8.el8.x86_64.rpm 908 kB/s | 97 kB 00:00 (10/13): ed-1.14.2-4.el8.x86_64.rpm 825 kB/s | 82 kB 00:00 (11/13): at-3.1.20-11.el8.x86_64.rpm 817 kB/s | 81 kB 00:00 (12/13): postfix-3.3.1-8.el8.x86_64.rpm 11 MB/s | 1.5 MB 00:00 (13/13): patch-2.7.6-9.el8_0.x86_64.rpm 1.3 MB/s | 138 kB 00:00 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Total 1.9 MB/s | 3.0 MB 00:01 ....
You should be good to go now. Try running the lsb_release command:
# lsb_release LSB Version: :core-4.1-amd64:core-4.1-noarch
Various options with lsb_release command are:
# lsb_release --help
FSG lsb_release v2.0 prints certain LSB (Linux Standard Base) and
Distribution information.
Usage: lsb_release [OPTION]...
With no OPTION specified defaults to -v.
Options:
-v, --version
Display the version of the LSB specification against which the distribution is compliant.
-i, --id
Display the string id of the distributor.
-d, --description
Display the single line text description of the distribution.
-r, --release
Display the release number of the distribution.
-c, --codename
Display the codename according to the distribution release.
-a, --all
Display all of the above information.
-s, --short
Use short output format for information requested by other options (or version if none).
-h, --help
Display this message.