CentOS Stream 9: /etc/centos-release missing after centos-release-stream transition

Answer

Do not create a symlink or wrapper for /etc/centos-release. The legacy file is intentionally omitted in CentOS Stream 9, and a symlink to /etc/os-release will not satisfy scripts that expect the plain‑text release string.

Confirmed facts

• The centos-release-stream RPM provides /etc/centos-release-stream but does not create /etc/centos-release.
• The file /etc/os-release is present and contains ID=centos and a VERSION_ID matching the Stream release.
• No official CentOS documentation recommends a compatibility shim; the advised path is to update detection logic.

Likely explanation

Automation that reads /etc/centos-release fails because the file no longer exists, while /etc/os-release uses a KEY=VALUE format that many legacy parsers cannot handle directly.

Steps to update detection (only what is needed for this case)

1. Replace any direct read of /etc/centos-release with a check of /etc/os-release (e.g., grep -q '^ID=centos' /etc/os-release).
2. Optionally verify the installed package with rpm -q centos-release-stream.
3. In CI/CD pipelines, add a pre‑flight step that exports a variable such as DISTRO=centos based on the /etc/os-release check, then reference that variable instead of reading the file.

When a wrapper might be considered

If your legacy tools require the exact string format (e.g., "CentOS Stream release 9"), a small wrapper script can echo that string after reading /etc/os-release. Otherwise, avoid wrappers or symlinks.

Missing diagnostic detail: Do your existing scripts need the precise release string, or is a simple boolean check for the distribution sufficient? Answering this will determine whether a wrapper is necessary.