UNAME(3)

💖 uname(3) 💖

okay so this is the uname(3) page from the Library Functions Manual, and it’s literally all about getting system identification. grab a strawberry 🍓 and let’s get into it, bestie.

✨ NAME ✨

uname — get system identification

📚 LIBRARY 📚

Standard C Library (libc, -lc) — yes bestie, that’s the one.

🛠️ SYNOPSIS 🛠️

#include <sys/utsname.h>

int
uname(struct utsname *name);

🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

The uname() function stores NUL-terminated strings of information identifying the current system into the structure referenced by name. NUL, not NULL — we’re being precise, periodt 💅

The utsname structure is defined in the <sys/utsname.h> header file, and contains the following members:

• sysname — Name of the operating system implementation.
• nodename — Network name of this machine.
• release — Release level of the operating system.
• version — Version level of the operating system.
• machine — Machine hardware platform.

🎀 RETURN VALUES 🎀

The uname() function returns the value 0 if successful; otherwise the value -1 is returned and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error. that’s the whole deal, no cap ✨

🌈 ENVIRONMENT 🌈

these env vars can override the struct members, and if they’re set, they win:

• UNAME_s — If the environment variable UNAME_s is set, it will override the sysname member.
• UNAME_r — If the environment variable UNAME_r is set, it will override the release member.
• UNAME_v — If the environment variable UNAME_v is set, it will override the version member.
• UNAME_m — If the environment variable UNAME_m is set, it will override the machine member.

💀 ERRORS 💀

The uname() function may fail and set errno for any of the errors specified for the library functions sysctl(3). so if something goes sideways, go read that page, bestie 🫶

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

• uname(1)
• sysctl(3)

⭐ STANDARDS ⭐

The uname() function conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1-1988 (“POSIX.1”). standards slay 💖

🦋 HISTORY 🦋

The uname() function first appeared in 4.4BSD. vintage icon behavior, honestly 👑

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mwah 💋 — this page is from the Debian edition, dated December 2, 2005. that’s the source/version and date, and now we’re done, bestie 🫶