This is a Perl library for reading OS info from FreeDesktop.Org-standard /etc/os-release files which describe the environment of a Linux or other Unix systems.
This is the source code repository. See also the distribution on CPAN. Each link contains module documentation.
- Sys::OsRelease - source code, CPAN distribution
- Sys::OsRelease::Lite - source code, CPAN distribution
In Spring 2026, dependencies of Dist::Zilla forced it to increase its minimum Perl version to 5.22. Sys::OsRelease had previously maintained compatibility back to 5.10 through CPAN testing. When a user expressed interest in maintaining at least 5.16 compatibility, an alternative repackaging called Sys::OsRelease::Lite was made. It provides essentially the same module source code as Sys::OsRelease with the module name filtered to Sys::OsRelease::Lite. Using a lighter build process, it's packaged with ExtUtils::MakeMaker to preserve compatibility back to 5.10.
In summary, Sys::OsRelease remains the primary distribution. For users whose system has Perl older than 5.22, install Sys::OsRelease::Lite.
November 3, 2022 at Silicon Valley Perl: slides (PDF)
