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Learn how to use an if condition in a shell script to run specific commands based on the Ubuntu version installed on your system. This step-by-step guide provides simple examples and explanations.
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How to Run Commands Based on Ubuntu Version in a Shell Script

If you're a developer or a system administrator working with Ubuntu, you might find yourself needing to run specific commands based on the version of Ubuntu that is currently installed on a machine. This task can be efficiently managed using a shell script. In this guide, we will walk through how to create a simple shell script that checks the installed version of Ubuntu and runs different commands depending on the version — specifically, whether it's version 18 or less.

Understanding the Task

The main goal of our script is to:

Check the current version of Ubuntu.

Use an if statement to determine whether the version is 18 or less.

Execute one command if the condition is true, or another command if it is false.

This approach is particularly useful in scenarios where certain software applications or commands are not compatible with newer versions of the operating system, and different paths need to be followed depending on the version.

Steps to Create the Shell Script

Step 1: Retrieve Ubuntu Version

To get the Ubuntu version, we can use the lsb_release command, which is often available on most Ubuntu installations. Here’s how to do it:

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This command retrieves the version number of the installed Ubuntu system. It uses cut to extract the major version (the first part before the decimal point).

If lsb_release is not available, you can alternatively retrieve the version from /etc/os-release by using the following command:

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Step 2: Implement the Conditional Logic

Now that we have the Ubuntu version stored in the variable OS_VER, we can use an if statement to execute different commands based on the version. Here’s the complete script:

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Step 3: Run Your Script

Save the script to a file, for example, check_version.sh.

Make it executable with the command:

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Execute it using:

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Depending on the Ubuntu version, you will see either "Running command A for Ubuntu version 18 or less." or "Running command B for Ubuntu version greater than 18." in the terminal.

Conclusion

In this guide, we showed you how to create a shell script that checks the Ubuntu version and runs different commands based on that version. This script is a simple yet powerful tool for handling version-specific tasks in a seamless manner, making it easier to manage applications and scripts across different environments. By leveraging tools like lsb_release and conditional statements, you can ensure that your scripts behave as expected regardless of the underlying system.

With this knowledge, you can adapt and expand your script to include whatever commands you need for your specific use case. Happy scripting!