arch

Additional Notes

arch prints the machine hardware architecture name, such as x86_64, aarch64, or armv7l. It is a small convenience command similar to uname -m.

Use it when choosing binary downloads, checking container architecture, or verifying what platform a system reports.

Syntax

arch

Parameters

• No arguments: Print the architecture.
• options: Some implementations support --help and --version.

Common Options

• --help: Show help.
• --version: Show version information.

Examples

arch

Print the current machine architecture.

uname -m

Equivalent architecture check on most Linux systems.

case "$(arch)" in
  x86_64) echo "AMD64 build" ;;
  aarch64) echo "ARM64 build" ;;
esac

Branch in a shell script based on architecture.

Practical Notes

• Architecture names are not always package architecture names. For example, Debian may use amd64 where arch prints x86_64.
• Containers can report the container architecture, which may matter for multi-architecture images.