How to Find Your IP Address Using Terminal

When working with networks, knowing your IP address is essential. This guide will walk you through the process of finding your IP address using the command line on your computer. Whether you're on a Windows, macOS, or Linux system, you can use the terminal to obtain this information. This article will cover various methods using the ifconfig command and other tools available in the terminal.

Introduction to IP Addresses

An IP address is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. These addresses are used for identification and location addressing. Understanding how to find your IP address can help you troubleshoot network issues, configure network settings, and perform other tasks involving your device's network connection.

Using ifconfig Command

The ifconfig command is a utility that displays information about network interfaces on Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It can be used to configure these interfaces, but in this context, we will use it to display the IP addresses assigned to your network interfaces.

Step 1: Open a Terminal

First, open the terminal application on your system. On Windows, you can use the Command Prompt or PowerShell. On macOS or Linux, you can use Terminal or any other terminal emulator.

Step 2: Run the ifconfig Command

Once the terminal is open, type the following command and press Enter:

ifconfig -a

This command will output detailed information about all network interfaces present on your system, including their IP addresses. Here is an example of what the output might look like:

br0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 62:10:2C:9E:D2:0Binet6 addr: fe80::6010:2cff:fe9e:d20b/64 Scope:LinkUP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0TX packets:15 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0collisions:0 txqueuelen:0RX bytes:0 0.0 b TX bytes:3042 2.9 KiBeth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr AC:22:0B:78:AE:5Einet addr:192.168.19.113 Bcast:192.168.19.255 Mask:255.255.255.0inet6 addr: fdbe:f8f:a0b5:7bda:ae22:bff:fe78:ae5e/64 Scope:Globalinet6 addr: fe80::ae22:bff:fe78:ae5e/64 Scope:LinkUP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1RX packets:405574079 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0TX packets:782632960 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000RX bytes:37600835020 35.0 GiB TX bytes:1105662675125 1.0 TiB

In the output, look for lines labeled with inet addr: or similar. These lines will display the IP addresses assigned to your interfaces. For instance, in the example, 192.168.19.113 is the IP address for the eth0 interface.

Step 3: Identify Your Public IP Address

For finding your public IP address, which is the IP address visible on the internet, you will need an external service. You can use the following command to retrieve it:

wget -qO- 

This command makes a request to a public web service (e.g., ) to retrieve your public IP address. If you prefer a graphical interface, you can visit websites like

Additional Commands for IP Address Lookup

If you need to look up the IP address of another device or site, you can use the following commands:

nslookup Command

The nslookup command is used to query Internet domain name servers to translate hostnames to IP addresses. Here is an example of how to use it:

nslookup 

This command will retrieve the IP address of the domain If you are using a system with a custom nameserver, you can specify it using the -s option:

nslookup  -s 127.0.0.53

hostname -I Command

The hostname -I command gives you a quick view of the IP addresses configurated on your system:

hostname -I

This command works on most modern Unix-like systems.

Conclusion

Finding your IP address is a fundamental task for network administrators and users alike. By using the ifconfig command and other terminal tools, you can easily locate your IP addresses. Whether you need to check your local network or public IP address, these commands provide a powerful and reliable way to do so.

For more information on network commands in the terminal, consider checking out James Lewis's concise guide on finding IP addresses, which provides additional insights and commands.