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platform

Updated March 13, 2026 · Modules
stdlib system platform

The platform module provides functions to access identifying data about the underlying platform where Python is running. This includes the operating system name and version, machine type, processor information, and Python implementation details. It’s useful for conditional code that needs to behave differently across operating systems or gather system information for logging and debugging.

Syntax

import platform

Functions

platform.platform()

Returns a single string identifying the underlying platform with as much useful information as possible.

ParameterTypeDefaultDescription
terseboolFalseIf True, return only the minimum information needed to identify the platform
aliasboolFalseIf True, use common marketing names instead of system names (e.g., SunOS becomes Solaris)

Returns: str — A string identifying the platform

Examples:

# Get full platform information
print(platform.platform())
# Linux-6.12.38-x86_64-with-glibc2.36

# Get minimal platform information
print(platform.platform(terse=True))
# Linux-6.12.38-x86_64

# Get aliased platform name
print(platform.platform(alias=True))
# Solaris

platform.system()

Returns the system/OS name, such as ‘Linux’, ‘Darwin’, ‘Java’, or ‘Windows’.

Returns: str — The operating system name

Examples:

print(platform.system())
# Linux

platform.release()

Returns the system’s release version, e.g., ‘2.2.0’ on Linux or ‘10’ on Windows.

Returns: str — The system release version

Examples:

print(platform.release())
# 6.12.38

platform.version()

Returns the system’s release version with additional details.

Returns: str — The system version string

Examples:

print(platform.version())
# #13 SMP Debian x86_64 GNU/Linux

platform.machine()

Returns the machine type, e.g., ‘AMD64’, ‘x86_64’, ‘arm64’, or ‘aarch64’.

Returns: str — The machine type

Examples:

print(platform.machine())
# x86_64

platform.processor()

Returns the (real) processor name, e.g., ‘Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9750H’ or ‘AMD Ryzen 7 5800X’.

Returns: str — The processor name, or empty string if unavailable

Examples:

print(platform.processor())
# x86_64

platform.python_version()

Returns the Python version as a string ‘major.minor.patchlevel’.

Returns: str — Python version string

Examples:

print(platform.python_version())
# 3.12.8

# Get tuple version
print(platform.python_version_tuple())
# ('3', '12', '8')

platform.node()

Returns the computer’s network name (may not be fully qualified).

Returns: str — The network node name

Examples:

print(platform.node())
# hostname

Common Patterns

Get all platform info at once

import platform

print(f"System: {platform.system()}")
print(f"Release: {platform.release()}")
print(f"Version: {platform.version()}")
print(f"Machine: {platform.machine()}")
print(f"Processor: {platform.processor()}")
print(f"Python: {platform.python_version()}")

Python implementation details

import platform

print(platform.python_implementation())  # CPython
print(platform.python_compiler())         # GCC 12.2.0
print(platform.python_build()[0])         # main
print(platform.python_branch())           # main

Detect 64-bit vs 32-bit Python

import platform

is_64bit = platform.machine().endswith('64')
print(f"64-bit Python: {is_64bit}")

Cross-platform path handling

import platform
import os

if platform.system() == 'Windows':
    config_dir = os.path.join(os.environ['APPDATA'], 'myapp')
else:
    config_dir = os.path.expanduser('~/.config/myapp')

os.makedirs(config_dir, exist_ok=True)

See Also