How to find your IP address on a Mac: public and local

Like any computer, your Mac has a public IP address, seen by the internet, and a local one, used only inside your network. Here is how to find both, from the interface or from the Terminal.

Your public IP address: the fast way

Open the What is my IP address page in Safari or any other browser. You instantly see your public IPv4 or IPv6 address, the protocol, country and reverse DNS, with one-click copy. This is the one you use for remote access, allowlists or support conversations.

Your local IP in System Settings

On macOS Ventura or newer open System Settings, Wi-Fi, click Details next to the connected network and read IP address. For a wired connection, go to System Settings, Network and pick the Ethernet interface. On older versions the same information lives in System Preferences, Network.

Shortcut: hold Option and click the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar; your IP address shows up right in the list.

Your local IP from the Terminal

Open Terminal and run:

ipconfig getifaddr en0

On most Macs en0 is the primary interface (Wi-Fi on laptops). If you get nothing back, list every active interface:

ifconfig | grep "inet "

Ignore the 127.0.0.1 line: that is the loopback address, not your network address.

Public or local: which one do you need?

The local address (usually 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x) is for printers, file sharing or SSH between computers on the same network. The public address is for the outside world: your router shares it with every device through NAT.

The steps for the other systems: how to find your IP address on Windows and on Linux. For diagnosing your connection, see network connectivity testing.