Check if Linux Distribution is Debian-based

Debian is a widely used open-source Linux distribution known for its stability, security, and strong community support. It serves as the foundation for many other distributions, such as Ubuntu, Kali Linux, and others. Identifying whether the Linux system is Debian-based is important for managing packages and ensuring compatibility with certain software. This tutorial demonstrates how to check if a Linux distribution is Debian-based.

One simple way to determine if a system is Debian-based is to see if the /etc/debian_version file exists. You can do this using the following command:

ls /etc/debian_version

If the system is based on Debian (e.g., Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Linux Mint, Parrot OS, PureOS), the command will return:

/etc/debian_version

On non-Debian-based distributions (e.g., Fedora, Alpine, Arch Linux), you will see an error indicating that the file does not exist:

ls: /etc/debian_version: No such file or directory