How to Check Your External IP Address on a Mac Using Terminal

If you're looking for a quick and easy way to check your external IP address, your Mac's built-in Terminal application has got you covered. In this guide, we'll show you how to find your external IP address using the command line.

What is an External IP Address?

Before we dive into the instructions, let's quickly cover what an external IP address is. Your external IP address is the address that is broadcast to the world, rather than your local network (behind a wireless router, for instance). This is the address that others see when they visit your website or connect to your device.

Method 1: Using Terminal

To find your external IP address using Terminal, follow these steps:

1. Launch Terminal by navigating to /Applications/Utilities/ and double-clicking on the app.

2. Type in `ipconfig getifaddr en1` (or `en0` for wired/ethernet connections) and press Enter.

This command will display your IP address along with other network information. Your external IP address is usually next to the last entry of 'inet' and will be in the format x.x.x.x, but it will never be 127.0.0.1 (which is your machine's loopback address).

Method 2: Using System Preferences

Alternatively, you can find your external IP address by using System Preferences. Here's how:

1. Click on the Apple menu and select 'System Preferences'.

2. Click on 'Network' to open the Network configuration screen.

3. Select your network connection (e.g., Wi-Fi or Ethernet) from the left-hand menu.

4. Click on the 'Advanced' button.

5. In the resulting window, scroll down to the 'TCP/IP' tab and look for your external IP address.

In this article, we've shown you two methods for finding your external IP address using a Mac: Terminal and System Preferences. Whether you're looking for a quick and easy way to check your IP address or need more technical control over your network settings, these methods have got you covered.

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