lsb_release: command not found in latest Ubuntu Docker container

Question

I just wanted to test something out real quick. So I ran a docker container and I wanted to check which version I was running:

$ docker run -it ubuntu    
root@471bdb08b11a:/# lsb_release -a
bash: lsb_release: command not found
root@471bdb08b11a:/#

So I tried installing it (as suggested here):

root@471bdb08b11a:/# apt install lsb_release
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package lsb_release
root@471bdb08b11a:/#

Anybody any idea why this isn't working?

the command is `lsb_release` (with underscore) but the package to install is `lsb-release` (with an hyphen) — RubenLaguna, Nov 25 '20 at 10:29
@RubenLaguna i wonder who thought it is a good idea to have two different names... — Black, Jun 08 '22 at 07:36

score 235 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 23 '23 at 17:05

235

It seems lsb_release is not installed.

You can install it via:

apt-get update && apt-get install -y lsb-release && apt-get clean all

edited Feb 23 '23 at 17:05

vvvvv

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answered Oct 15 '19 at 13:15

ckaserer

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3

I only needed to install the package `lsb-release`. `lsb-core` works too, but it brings in a whole bunch of dependencies I don't need. – CodeMouse92 Nov 22 '19 at 01:31
18

This is why I love Linux - black magic resulting in several screens of output just to see OS version! – Alexander Christov Feb 16 '20 at 06:55
15

@AlexanderChristov you can just run `uname --all` for kernel version or `cat /etc/os-release` for distribution info, if you don't want to do it the recommended way – smac89 May 23 '20 at 14:41
37

I guess is worth noting that the command is `lsb_release` (with underscore) but the package to install is `lsb-release` (with hyphen) – RubenLaguna Nov 25 '20 at 10:30
this doesn't solve the problem – Dmitriy Ogureckiy Apr 02 '23 at 19:54

score 14 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 25 '22 at 10:14

14

Just use cat /etc/os-release and that should display the OS details.

Screenshot from debian.

Screenshot from ubuntu.

Screenshot from fedora.

answered Oct 25 '22 at 10:14

Svj

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score 6 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 01 '20 at 17:17

6

This error can happen due to uninstalling or upgrading the default python3 program version in ubuntu 16.04

The way to correct this is by reinstalling the original python3 version which comes with ubuntu and relinking again. (in ubuntu 16.04 - the default python3 version is python 3.5

sudo rm /usr/bin/python3
sudo ln -s /usr/bin/python3.5 /usr/bin/python3

answered Aug 01 '20 at 17:17

Magnus Melwin

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I'd be careful messing with the potential symlinks in /usr/bin/python3. You really should be using sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/python3 python3 /usr/bin/python3.5 35 #or whatever priority. That being said, mine is there, but the shebang is for python, not python3 – DeadlyChambers May 27 '22 at 04:16

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Sep 19 '22 at 12:11

2

lsb_release.py lives in /usr/share/pyshared which to me doesn't look like python3.6 and above is referencing.

I found the following will create a link back from a later Python install to this /usr/share script:

sudo ln -s /usr/share/pyshared/lsb_release.py /usr/lib/python3.9/site-packages/lsb_release.py

edited Sep 19 '22 at 12:11

vvvvv

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answered Mar 03 '22 at 04:10

Julian Robbins

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score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 05 '22 at 01:53

1

In case one is trying to deal with lsb_release: command not found on fedora or redhat, the package to install is redhat-lsb-core , so sudo dnf install redhat-lsb-core

answered Nov 05 '22 at 01:53

Vivek Gani

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Pravind Kumar · Answer 6 · 2022-09-18T03:38:01.043

0

While writing Dockerfile we can add lsb-release package - like this

RUN apt-get update -y \
    && apt-get upgrade -y \
    && apt-get install lsb-release -y \
    && apt-get clean all

Assuming OS is Ubuntu.

edited Sep 18 '22 at 03:38

answered Sep 17 '22 at 19:05

Pravind Kumar

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lsb_release: command not found in latest Ubuntu Docker container

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