Which command prints the kernel version, suitable for scripting?

• A. uname -r
• B. uname -a
• C. cat /proc/version
• D. rpm -q kernel

Answer: (A)

To script the kernel version, you want a clean, stable value. The uname command with the -r option prints just the kernel release, which is exactly what you need for comparisons or conditional logic. It outputs a concise string like 6.2.0-rc7, without extra text, making it reliable for scripts.

Other commands pull in extra data or reflect different concepts. uname -a shows all system information, which is not convenient to parse for a version check. cat /proc/version includes the kernel version plus build details like the compiler and build date, adding noise you’d have to trim. rpm -q kernel lists installed kernel packages and may not equal the running kernel, plus it depends on the package manager state rather than the active kernel.