Linux 💻 How to Determine Your Operating System's Bit Depth

[dEEpEst]

How to Determine Your Operating System's Bit Depth

Created for Hack Tools Dark Community

Understanding your system's bit depth (32-bit vs 64-bit) is essential when installing software, tools, or drivers — especially in the context of penetration testing, malware analysis, and system hardening. Here's how to identify it easily on Unix-like systems.

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What is Bit Depth?
The OS bit depth determines the instruction set the system uses for memory and data processing. Two common architectures:

• i386 → 32-bit → Legacy, supports up to ~4 GB RAM
• x86_64 → 64-bit → Modern, widespread usage

Some newer systems (e.g., Apple Silicon) use ARM64 (aarch64), which is also 64-bit.

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Quick Commands to Detect System Architecture

arch

$ arch
aarch64

This reveals the machine's architecture directly. On Mac M1/M2 or ARM-based systems, expect `aarch64`.

uname -m

$ uname -m
x86_64

Prints the system’s hardware architecture. Useful for Linux/Unix/macOS.

file /lib/systemd/systemd

$ file /lib/systemd/systemd
/lib/systemd/systemd: ELF 64-bit LSB pie executable, x86-64, ...

This analyzes an executable binary — useful for confirming the system bit depth.

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Bonus Tip (for Linux):
Use `getconf` for script-friendly output:

$ getconf LONG_BIT
64

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Note: Some tools or specific payloads may fail or behave differently depending on system architecture. Always confirm the right build.

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Join the discussion:
Which architecture do you use in your lab setups? Have you encountered issues with i386 legacy systems or ARM-based devices in your workflow?

Let's talk below.