How To Install Kernel Headers on Ubuntu

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Kernel Headers on Ubuntu. For those of you who didn’t know, Kernel headers are files that provide the necessary information for building kernel modules, which are programs that can be loaded into the kernel at runtime to extend its functionality. These headers contain information about the internal data structures and function calls used by the kernel, and they are required for building out-of-tree kernel modules, which are modules that are not included in the official kernel source code.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Kernel Headers on Ubuntu Linux. You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Ubuntu 24.04, 22.04, and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• An active internet connection. You’ll need an internet connection to download the necessary packages and dependencies for Kernel Headers.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Kernel Headers on Ubuntu

Step 1. First, make sure that all your system packages are up-to-date by running the following apt commands in the terminal.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2. Check the Current Linux Kernel.

Check the version of the kernel that is currently running on your system. You can do this by running the following command:

uname -r

This will output the version of your kernel, for example:

5.15.88-generic

Step 3. Installing Kernel Headers on Ubuntu.

Now run the following command that follows to install the Linux Kernel headers package for your kernel version:

sudo apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

This command ensures that you install the appropriate headers for your system.

You can verify that the kernel headers package has been installed by running the following command:

dpkg -l | grep linux-headers

Step 4. Troubleshooting Tips for Kernel Headers Installation.

• If the matching kernel headers cannot be found, ensure your system’s package index is up to date and that you have specified the correct kernel version.
• For errors during the installation process, check your internet connection and package repository configuration for any issues.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Kernel Headers. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing Kernel Headers on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Kernel website.