How to Look Up an IP Address on a Computer
Every device connected to a network has an IP address — a numerical label that identifies it on the internet or a local network. Whether you're troubleshooting a connection issue, setting up a home server, or just curious, knowing how to find an IP address is a genuinely useful skill. The tricky part is that "looking up an IP address" can mean several different things depending on what you're actually trying to find.
What Kind of IP Address Are You Looking For?
Before jumping into steps, it helps to understand the distinction — because the method changes completely based on what you need.
- Your local (private) IP address — the address your router assigns to your device on your home or office network
- Your public IP address — the address the wider internet sees when your device connects through your router
- Another device's IP address — finding the IP of a website, server, or another machine on your network
- A remote IP address — tracing where traffic is coming from or where a domain resolves to
Each of these requires a different approach.
How to Find Your Local IP Address
Your local IP address is assigned by your router using a protocol called DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). It typically looks like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x.
On Windows
- Press Windows + R, type
cmd, and hit Enter - In the Command Prompt, type
ipconfigand press Enter - Look for IPv4 Address under your active network adapter
The result shows your local IP, subnet mask, and default gateway (your router's address).
On macOS
- Open System Settings (or System Preferences on older versions)
- Go to Network, then select your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
- Your IP address appears directly on that screen
Alternatively, open Terminal and type ifconfig | grep inet for a command-line view.
On Linux
Open a terminal and run:
ip addr show or the older command:
ifconfig Look for the inet value under your active interface (often eth0 for Ethernet or wlan0 for Wi-Fi).
How to Find Your Public IP Address 🌐
Your public IP address is assigned by your ISP and is shared across all devices on your network through your router via NAT (Network Address Translation). Your local IP and public IP are almost never the same.
The simplest method: open a browser and search "what is my IP address" — Google and many other sites display it instantly at the top of results.
From the command line, you can also run:
curl ifconfig.me This works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (with curl installed).
How to Look Up an IP Address for a Website or Domain
If you want to find the IP address behind a domain name — like finding where example.com actually lives — you're using DNS lookup (Domain Name System).
Using Command Prompt or Terminal
On Windows:
nslookup example.com On macOS/Linux:
dig example.com or
nslookup example.com Both return the A record — the IPv4 address the domain resolves to. Some domains return multiple IP addresses, which is common for large services using load balancing.
How to Find the IP Address of Another Device on Your Network
If you want to see all devices connected to your local network and their assigned IPs, a few methods work well.
| Method | Tool | Works On |
|---|---|---|
| Router admin panel | Browser (192.168.1.1 or similar) | All platforms |
| ARP table | arp -a in terminal | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Network scanner | Tools like nmap | All platforms |
The router admin panel is often the most accessible option — log in using your router's gateway address and look for a connected devices or DHCP client list.
Running arp -a in any terminal shows devices your machine has recently communicated with, along with their IP and MAC addresses.
Interpreting What You Find
A few things worth knowing about the results:
- IPv4 vs IPv6 — You may see both. IPv4 addresses look like
192.168.1.5; IPv6 addresses are longer strings likefe80::1. Most home networks still run on IPv4, but IPv6 adoption is growing. - Dynamic vs static IPs — Most local and public IPs are dynamic, meaning they can change. A static IP is manually configured and stays fixed — relevant if you're hosting anything.
- Private IP ranges — Addresses in the ranges
10.0.0.0–10.255.255.255,172.16.0.0–172.31.255.255, and192.168.0.0–192.168.255.255are always local, never routable on the public internet.
The Variables That Change Your Experience 🔍
The exact steps and output you see depend on several factors:
- Operating system and version — Windows 11, macOS Ventura, and Ubuntu all present network information differently
- Network type — Corporate networks, VPNs, and mobile hotspots add layers that can mask or change your visible IP
- Router model — Admin panel interfaces vary significantly by manufacturer
- IPv6 support — Some networks primarily use IPv6, which changes how addresses appear and how lookup tools behave
- VPN usage — If you're connected to a VPN, your public IP will reflect the VPN server's address, not your ISP's
Someone on a corporate network with a VPN, looking up their "public" IP, will get a very different result than someone on a home connection doing the same thing. A developer reverse-engineering traffic logs has entirely different needs than someone who just wants to troubleshoot a slow Wi-Fi connection.
What you're actually trying to accomplish — and the environment your machine is operating in — determines which method gives you the answer you're really looking for.