How to Find Your IP Address on a Mac

Your Mac has at least two IP addresses worth knowing about: a local (private) IP address that identifies it on your home or office network, and a public IP address that represents your entire network to the outside internet. Knowing which one you need — and where to find it — makes a real difference when you're troubleshooting connectivity issues, setting up a network printer, configuring remote access, or checking your VPN is working correctly.

What's the Difference Between Local and Public IP?

Before diving into steps, this distinction matters:

• Local IP address — assigned by your router to your Mac within your private network. Typically starts with 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or 172.16.x.x. Only meaningful inside your network.
• Public IP address — assigned by your internet service provider (ISP) to your router. This is what websites and external servers see when you connect to them.

Most networking tasks (like connecting devices, port forwarding, or sharing files locally) require your local IP. Checking whether a VPN is masking your location or diagnosing external connectivity issues calls for your public IP.

How to Find Your Local IP Address on a Mac

Method 1: System Settings (macOS Ventura and Later)

Apple redesigned its settings interface starting with macOS Ventura (13.0):

1. Click the Apple menu → System Settings
2. Select Network from the sidebar
3. Click your active connection — Wi-Fi or Ethernet
4. Your IP address appears directly on this screen under the connection details

Method 2: System Preferences (macOS Monterey and Earlier)

On older macOS versions:

1. Click the Apple menu → System Preferences
2. Open Network
3. Select your active connection from the left panel
4. Your IP address is displayed on the right side of the window

Method 3: Terminal (Works on Any macOS Version)

If you're comfortable with the command line, Terminal gives you precise results fast:

1. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal)
2. Type the following and press Enter:

ipconfig getifaddr en0 

Use en0 for Wi-Fi on most Macs, or en1 for Ethernet. If you're unsure which interface is active, the command:

ifconfig | grep "inet " 

...returns all active IP addresses assigned to your Mac, including the loopback address 127.0.0.1 (which you can ignore — that's just your Mac talking to itself).

Method 4: Network Utility / Wi-Fi Menu Bar Shortcut

Holding Option and clicking the Wi-Fi icon in your menu bar reveals a quick info panel that includes your IP address, router address, and other network details — no menus required. This is one of the fastest methods for a quick check. 🖥️

How to Find Your Public IP Address on a Mac

Your Mac itself doesn't display your public IP in System Settings — that information lives at the router level. The simplest approaches:

• Browser method: Open Safari or any browser and search "what is my IP" — Google, Bing, and dedicated sites like whatismyipaddress.com display it instantly.
• Terminal method: Run this command:

curl ifconfig.me 

This queries an external server and returns your public IP directly in the Terminal window.

Quick Reference: Which Method for Which Need?

Variables That Affect Which Method Works for You

Not every method works the same way in every environment:

• macOS version is the biggest variable. The path through System Settings changed significantly between Monterey and Ventura. If the steps above don't match what you see, your macOS version is likely the reason.
• Connection type matters for Terminal commands. en0 is typically Wi-Fi on MacBooks and most desktop Macs, but this isn't universal — some configurations assign interfaces differently, particularly on Macs with Thunderbolt adapters or USB-C Ethernet dongles.
• Network environment affects your local IP format. Corporate or university networks may assign IPs differently than a home router, and some managed networks use dynamic addressing that changes your IP periodically (DHCP leases). 🔄
• VPN status changes both your apparent public IP and sometimes your local IP, depending on how the VPN routes traffic. If you're on a VPN, the IP addresses you see may reflect the VPN tunnel rather than your physical network interface.
• IPv4 vs. IPv6 adds another layer. Most home networks still use IPv4 (the 192.168.x.x format), but macOS supports IPv6 natively, and some networks assign both. System Settings shows whichever version is active on your connection.

When Multiple IP Addresses Appear

It's normal to see more than one IP address, especially in Terminal. Your Mac may have a local IPv4 address, a local IPv6 address, and a self-assigned link-local address (starting with 169.254.x.x) — the last one usually signals that your Mac couldn't get an address from the router, which is a troubleshooting signal in itself. 🔍

Understanding which address applies to your situation depends heavily on what you're actually trying to accomplish — and that's where the details of your specific network setup, macOS version, and connection type become the deciding factors.