---
id: distro
version: "1.9.0"
license: Apache License, Version 2.0
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# distro — Distro - an OS platform information API

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Popularity: top 1,000 on PyPI

## Install

pip install distro
uv add distro
poetry add distro

## Description

Distro - an OS platform information API
=======================================

[![CI Status](https://github.com/python-distro/distro/workflows/CI/badge.svg)](https://github.com/python-distro/distro/actions/workflows/ci.yaml)
[![PyPI version](http://img.shields.io/pypi/v/distro.svg)](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/distro)
[![Supported Python Versions](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/distro.svg)](https://img.shields.io/pypi/pyversions/distro.svg)
[![Code Coverage](https://codecov.io/github/python-distro/distro/coverage.svg?branch=master)](https://codecov.io/github/python-distro/distro?branch=master)
[![Is Wheel](https://img.shields.io/pypi/wheel/distro.svg?style=flat)](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/distro)
[![Latest Github Release](https://readthedocs.org/projects/distro/badge/?version=stable)](http://distro.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)

`distro` provides information about the
OS distribution it runs on, such as a reliable machine-readable ID, or
version information.

It is the recommended replacement for Python's original
[`platform.linux_distribution`](https://docs.python.org/3.7/library/platform.html#platform.linux_distribution)
function (removed in Python 3.8). It also...

## AI interpretation — verify before relying

distro provides a reliable, machine-readable API to identify the Linux or BSD distribution and version running on the current system, replacing Python's deprecated platform.linux_distribution function.

Verdict: distro is a mature, well-maintained library with no known vulnerabilities, zero dependencies, and broad platform support across Python 3.6–3.12. It is the standard replacement for deprecated platform.linux_distribution and is safe to vendor. Suitable for any project needing reliable OS distribution detection.

[View on SkillFed](https://skillfed.io/packages/distro) · [View on PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/distro/)