This LPIC-1 practice question tests your understanding of administrative tasks. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An administrator needs to display the current and previous runlevels of a Linux system. Which command provides this information?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "which command"
Why it matters: Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
who -r
Why wrong: Shows only current runlevel, not previous.
runlevel
Outputs previous and current runlevel.
telinit 1
Why wrong: Changes runlevel to 1 (single-user), does not display runlevel.
init 0
Why wrong: Changes runlevel to 0 (shutdown), does not display current runlevel.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
runlevel
The `runlevel` command displays both the previous and current runlevels of a Linux system. It outputs two characters: the first indicates the previous runlevel (or 'N' if the runlevel has not changed since boot), and the second indicates the current runlevel. This is the standard tool for querying runlevel information on SysV init systems.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
who -r
Why it's wrong here
Shows only current runlevel, not previous.
runlevel
Why this is correct
Outputs previous and current runlevel.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "which command" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
telinit 1
Why it's wrong here
Changes runlevel to 1 (single-user), does not display runlevel.
init 0
Why it's wrong here
Changes runlevel to 0 (shutdown), does not display current runlevel.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse `who -r` with `runlevel` because both display the current runlevel, but `who -r` omits the previous runlevel, which is the key piece of information the question explicitly asks for.
Trap categories for this question
Command / output trap
Shows only current runlevel, not previous.
Detailed technical explanation
The `runlevel` command reads the `/var/run/utmp` file to determine the previous and current runlevels, which are stored as the last two entries in the runlevel field. On systems using systemd, `runlevel` is often a compatibility wrapper that maps to `systemctl get-default` and `systemctl list-units --type=target`, but the traditional behavior remains for SysV init. In real-world scenarios, knowing the previous runlevel helps diagnose why a service failed to start after a runlevel transition, such as moving from runlevel 3 to 5.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the LPIC-1 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
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FAQ
Administrative Tasks — This question tests Administrative Tasks — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: runlevel — The `runlevel` command displays both the previous and current runlevels of a Linux system. It outputs two characters: the first indicates the previous runlevel (or 'N' if the runlevel has not changed since boot), and the second indicates the current runlevel. This is the standard tool for querying runlevel information on SysV init systems.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Yes — watch for: "which command". Tests specific CLI syntax. Recall the exact command and its required context — near-synonyms and partial matches are common distractors.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
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