To check your Linux distribution version (i.e. release)…
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On Ubuntu/Debian:
cat /etc/lsb-release
or
cat /etc/debian_version
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On RedHat/Fedora:
$ cat /etc/fedora-release
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On Slackware:
cat /etc/slackware-version
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On Redhat machines, it is /etc/redhat-release
and for SuSE machines, you can use /etc/SuSE-release