How to Find Your IP Address from the Command Line in macOS

Finding your IP address on a macOS device can be a straightforward task if you know the right commands to use in the Terminal. Whether you need your local IP address for network troubleshooting or your public IP address for remote access, this guide will walk you through the steps.

What is an IP Address?

An IP address is a unique identifier assigned to each device connected to a network. There are two types of IP addresses you might need to find:

• Local IP Address: This is used within your local network.
• Public IP Address: This is used when your device communicates over the internet.

Opening Terminal

First, you need to open the Terminal app on your Mac. You can do this by:

1. Going to Applications > Utilities > Terminal.
2. Or, using Spotlight Search (Cmd + Space) and typing “Terminal”.

Finding Your Local IP Address

To find your local IP address, follow these steps:

For Wireless Connection:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Type the following command and press Enter:

ipconfig getifaddr en1

This command returns the IP address of the en1 interface, which is typically used for wireless connections.

For Ethernet Connection:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Type the following command and press Enter:

ipconfig getifaddr en0

This command returns the IP address of the en0 interface, which is typically used for wired Ethernet connections.

Note: By default, ipconfig getifaddr en0 is used for the Wi-Fi network adapter on many macOS devices.

dig -4 TXT +short o-o.myaddr.l.google.com @ns1.google.com

Command Explanation

The command you provided, dig -4 TXT +short o-o.myaddr.l.google.com @ns1.google.com, is a command-line instruction that uses the dig utility to perform a DNS (Domain Name System) lookup. Let’s break down the components of the command:

• dig: Stands for “domain information groper,” and it is a command-line tool commonly available on Unix-like systems for querying DNS servers.
• -4: Specifies that the command should use IPv4 protocol for the DNS lookup, ensuring the query is sent using IPv4 instead of IPv6.
• TXT: Indicates the type of DNS record being requested. In this case, the command is asking for the TXT record.
• +short: Used to display only the relevant information from the DNS response, providing a concise output.
• o-o.myaddr.l.google.com: The hostname used for the DNS lookup. It is a special hostname that Google uses to provide information about the IP address from which the DNS query originates.
• @ns1.google.com: Specifies the DNS server to which the query is sent. In this case, it is set to ns1.google.com, which is one of Google’s public DNS servers.

When you run this command, it queries the ns1.google.com DNS server for the TXT record associated with o-o.myaddr.l.google.com. The response will contain the TXT record, which typically includes information about the IP address of the client making the DNS query. The +short option ensures that only the relevant information is displayed, making it easier to read the output.

Additional Tips and Commands

• Checking All Network Interfaces: If you want to see all network interfaces and their IP addresses, you can use:

ifconfig

This will display detailed information about all network interfaces on your Mac.

• Using networksetup Command: Another useful command is networksetup, which can provide various network-related information. For example, to get the IP address of a specific network service, you can use:

networksetup -getinfo Wi-Fi

Replace Wi-Fi with the name of your network service if it’s different.

• Finding IPv6 Address: If you need to find your IPv6 address, you can use:

ifconfig | grep inet6

Summary

Using these simple commands in the Terminal, you can quickly find both your local and public IP addresses on a macOS device. This knowledge can be particularly useful for network troubleshooting, setting up remote access, or configuring network settings.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or need further assistance!