# Operating System

In case of virtualized environments, this is the operating system as it is observed by the process, i.e., the virtualized guest rather than the underlying host.

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**Status:** ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue)

**type:** `os`

**Description:** The operating system (OS) on which the process represented by this resource is running.

| Attribute  | Type | Description  | Examples  | [Requirement Level](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/general/attribute-requirement-level/) | Stability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [`os.type`](/docs/attributes-registry/os.md) | string | The operating system type. | `windows`; `linux`; `darwin` | `Required` | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| [`os.build_id`](/docs/attributes-registry/os.md) | string | Unique identifier for a particular build or compilation of the operating system. [1] | `TQ3C.230805.001.B2`; `20E247`; `22621` | `Recommended` | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| [`os.description`](/docs/attributes-registry/os.md) | string | Human readable (not intended to be parsed) OS version information, like e.g. reported by `ver` or `lsb_release -a` commands. | `Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.18363.778]`; `Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS` | `Recommended` | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| [`os.name`](/docs/attributes-registry/os.md) | string | Human readable operating system name. | `iOS`; `Android`; `Ubuntu` | `Recommended` | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| [`os.version`](/docs/attributes-registry/os.md) | string | The version string of the operating system as defined in [Version Attributes](/docs/resource/README.md#version-attributes). | `14.2.1`; `18.04.1` | `Recommended` | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |

**[1]:** `build_id` values SHOULD be obtained from the following sources:

| OS | Primary | Fallback |
| ------- | ------- | ------- |
| Windows | `CurrentBuildNumber` from registry `HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion` | - |
| MacOS | `ProductBuildVersion` from `/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist` | `ProductBuildVersion` from `/System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist` |
| Linux | `BUILD_ID` from `/etc/os-release` | `BUILD_ID` from `/usr/lib/os-release`; <br> contents of `/proc/sys/kernel/osrelease`|

`os.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.

| Value  | Description | Stability |
|---|---|---|
| `aix` | AIX (Advanced Interactive eXecutive) | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `darwin` | Apple Darwin | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `dragonflybsd` | DragonFly BSD | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `freebsd` | FreeBSD | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `hpux` | HP-UX (Hewlett Packard Unix) | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `linux` | Linux | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `netbsd` | NetBSD | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `openbsd` | OpenBSD | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `solaris` | SunOS, Oracle Solaris | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `windows` | Microsoft Windows | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |
| `z_os` | IBM z/OS | ![Experimental](https://img.shields.io/badge/-experimental-blue) |

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