How to find the processor / chip architecture on Linux

Question

What command should I use to find the processor / chip architecture on Linux?

linux-x86-32
linux-x86-64
linux-ppc-64

`uname -m` gives you back `i686` or `x86_64` depending on 32-bit or 64-bit Intel CPU, but I don't have access to machines on non-Intel architectures. — 逆さま, Aug 15 '11 at 15:13
x86_64 or amd64 would be 64-bit. i386, i486, i586, and i686 are 32-bit. Keep in mind however that those values are merely a reflection of the target the kernel was compiled for and not necessarily what the CPU is capable of. — James O'Doherty, Aug 15 '11 at 16:31
To know the current architecture of your OS type: `getconf -a | grep LONG_BIT` — Watchmaker, Jul 08 '15 at 20:06

score 50 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 02 '22 at 23:08

50

To display kernel architecture: uname -p

To display extended CPU details: cat /proc/cpuinfo

edited Apr 02 '22 at 23:08

Slava Fomin II

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answered Aug 15 '11 at 15:11

joet3ch

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More specifically, `uname -p` for processor architecture. – Steve Wang Aug 15 '11 at 15:12
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`uname` (with *any* options) will only show the *kernel* architecture, not the physical CPU architecture. In other words, it will show which CPU the kernel was compiled for. But that could show i386 even when running on a x86_64 CPU. – Dan Moulding Jun 23 '17 at 18:03
2

`uname -p` gives me `unknown` – Elie G. Nov 04 '21 at 23:47

score 27 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 31 '21 at 11:43

In the terminal, type

lscpu

which returns output like this:

Architecture:          i686
CPU op-mode(s):        32-bit, 64-bit
Byte Order:            Little Endian
CPU(s):                2
On-line CPU(s) list:   0,1
Thread(s) per core:    1
Core(s) per socket:    2
Socket(s):             1
Vendor ID:             GenuineIntel
CPU family:            6
Model:                 23
Stepping:              6
CPU MHz:               2670.000
BogoMIPS:              5320.13
L1d cache:             32K
L1i cache:             32K
L2 cache:              3072K

To only get the architecture:

lscpu | grep Architecture

Which in this case is

Architecture:          i686

See man lscpu for more.

score 16 · Answer 3 · edited Dec 31 '21 at 11:40

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I'm surprised no one suggested uname -m. On my laptop, this gives armv7l, while uname -a gives me a monstrous two lines of text.

edited Dec 31 '21 at 11:40

Matthias Braun

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answered Aug 06 '15 at 18:02

James Ko

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Possible values listed at: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/45125516/possible-values-for-uname-m – Ciro Santilli Путлер Капут 六四事 Aug 13 '20 at 16:10

score 9 · Answer 4 · edited Jul 13 '17 at 09:30

9

see (man uname):

echo `uname -s`-`uname -p`

edited Jul 13 '17 at 09:30

Delimitry

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answered May 01 '13 at 16:48

Jack

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score 7 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 31 '21 at 11:57

A concise command producing information about the current machine is hostnamectl. Example output:

Static hostname: xxxx
Icon name: computer-laptop
Chassis: laptop
Boot ID: b3a1f952c514411c8c4xxxxxxxxxxxx
Operating System: Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS
Kernel: Linux 3.19.0-43-generic
Architecture: x86_64

It gives you the most basic information about your machine. Other commands like uname, lsb_release, or lscpu return more specific information.

How to find the processor / chip architecture on Linux

5 Answers5

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