Why does "uname -o" return GNU/Linux instead of Ubuntu?

I known that the uname -o command will display the operating system. But when I run that on Ubuntu 20.04, I get

GNU/Linux

not Ubuntu. Why is it like this?

1 Answer

Ubuntu is a GNU/Linux distribution.

man uname tells me the -o options report

 -o, --operating-system print the operating system

To me that is a valid answer, Ubuntu shows instead who packaged up the GNU/Linux operating system you are using.

I'd usually use lsb_release -a to view details about what GNU/Linux I'm using, for my system I get

guiverc@d960-ubu2:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu Groovy Gorilla (development branch)
Release: 20.10
Codename: groovy