---
name: "arch"
section: "1"
platform: "openbsd"
package: "man"
version: "8.0-current-20261101"
release: "OpenBSD 8.0-current (2026-11-01)"
platforms: ["linux", "openbsd", "macos"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/arch"
---

# arch(1)

print architecture type

## NAME

**arch**, **machine** – print architecture type

## SYNOPSIS

**arch** \[**-ks**\]

**machine** \[**-a**\]

## DESCRIPTION

The **arch** and **machine** commands display the machine's architecture in slightly different ways. **arch** by default displays the application architecture, defined by both the operating system and the instruction set architecture, while **machine** displays the kernel architecture (without the operating system part). Note that both commands output the target architecture as opposed to [uname(1)](/uname/1.md) which describes the host. This is useful for dynamic discovery of the target architecture in build or configuration scripts needing to work in cross-compilation environments.

The options for **arch** are as follows:

- **-k**

  Display the kernel architecture instead of application architecture.

- **-s**

  Display the chosen architecture in a short form, i.e., without the operating system prefixed.

The options for **machine** are as follows:

- **-a**

  Display the application architecture instead of the kernel architecture.

## SEE ALSO

[uname(1)](/uname/1.md)