How to Check Your IP Address in Linux

Knowing your IP address in Linux is one of those fundamental networking tasks that comes up constantly — whether you're configuring a server, troubleshooting connectivity, setting up SSH access, or just curious about your network setup. Linux gives you several ways to find this information, and the right method depends on your distro, your environment, and exactly what you're looking for.

What "IP Address" Actually Means in This Context

Before diving into commands, it helps to understand that Linux systems can have multiple IP addresses — sometimes several at once. There are two distinct types you may need:

• Private (local) IP address — the address assigned to your machine within your local network (e.g., 192.168.1.x or 10.0.0.x). This is what your router sees.
• Public (external) IP address — the address your internet traffic appears to come from. This is assigned by your ISP and shared across your entire network unless you have a dedicated IP.

Most Linux networking commands show you private addresses. Getting your public IP requires a different approach.

The Modern Way: Using the ip Command

The ip command is the current standard on most Linux distributions. It replaced the older ifconfig tool and is available by default on virtually all modern systems running iproute2.

To display all network interfaces and their assigned addresses: