Access to the underlying platform's identifying data in Python

The platform module in Python provides functions to access information about the underlying system's hardware, operating system, and interpreter version. This is useful for system administration, debugging, and creating platform-specific code.

Basic System Information

architecture()

This function queries the given executable (defaults to the Python interpreter executable) for various architecture information ?

import platform

print(platform.architecture())

('64bit', '')

machine()

This function returns the machine type, e.g. 'i386'. An empty string is returned if the value cannot be determined ?

import platform

print(platform.machine())

x86_64

system()

This function returns the system/OS name ?

import platform

print(platform.system())

Linux

Network and Platform Information

node()

This function returns the computer's network name ?

import platform

print(platform.node())

computer-name

platform()

This function returns a single string identifying the underlying platform ?

import platform

print(platform.platform())

Linux-5.4.0-74-generic-x86_64-with-glibc2.31

processor()

This function returns the (real) processor name ?

import platform

print(platform.processor())

x86_64

Python-Specific Information

python_build()

This function returns a tuple (buildno, builddate) ?

import platform

print(platform.python_build())

('default', 'Jun  1 2022 08:30:21')

python_compiler()

This function returns a string identifying the compiler used for compiling Python ?

import platform

print(platform.python_compiler())

GCC 9.4.0

python_implementation()

This function returns a string identifying the Python implementation. Possible return values are: 'CPython', 'IronPython', 'Jython', 'PyPy' ?

import platform

print(platform.python_implementation())

CPython

python_version()

This function returns a string containing the Python version in the form 'major.minor.patchlevel' ?

import platform

print(platform.python_version())

3.9.12

Complete System Information

uname()

Fairly portable uname interface. Returns a namedtuple containing six attributes: system, node, release, version, machine, and processor ?

import platform

result = platform.uname()
print(result)
print(f"System: {result.system}")
print(f"Node: {result.node}")
print(f"Release: {result.release}")

uname_result(system='Linux', node='computer-name', release='5.4.0-74-generic', version='#83-Ubuntu SMP Sat May 8 02:35:39 UTC 2021', machine='x86_64', processor='x86_64')
System: Linux
Node: computer-name
Release: 5.4.0-74-generic

Practical Example

Here's a complete example that gathers all platform information ?

import platform

def get_system_info():
    info = {
        'Architecture': platform.architecture(),
        'Machine': platform.machine(),
        'System': platform.system(),
        'Platform': platform.platform(),
        'Python Version': platform.python_version(),
        'Python Implementation': platform.python_implementation()
    }
    
    for key, value in info.items():
        print(f"{key}: {value}")

get_system_info()

Architecture: ('64bit', '')
Machine: x86_64
System: Linux
Platform: Linux-5.4.0-74-generic-x86_64-with-glibc2.31
Python Version: 3.9.12
Python Implementation: CPython

Conclusion

The platform module provides comprehensive system information for cross-platform compatibility. Use these functions to adapt your code behavior based on the underlying system, operating system, or Python implementation.