ipconfig on a Mac: What to Type Instead (Terminal Guide)

If you are looking into ipconfig mac, this guide explains the essentials in plain language and points you to the most useful next steps.

If you type ipconfig on a Mac expecting the Windows-style readout of every adapter, you will be disappointed. macOS does include a command called ipconfig, but it is a small helper that answers one question at a time. The line most people want is ipconfig getifaddr en0, which prints your local IPv4 address when you are on Wi-Fi. For anything broader, ifconfig and networksetup do the job that ipconfig /all does on Windows.

The quick answer: find your IP address

Open Terminal by pressing Command-Space, typing Terminal and hitting Return. You can also find it in Applications, inside the Utilities folder. Then try these in turn:

1. ipconfig getifaddr en0 prints the IPv4 address of the first network interface. On most recent MacBooks that is Wi-Fi.
2. ipconfig getifaddr en1 is the next thing to try if the first command returns a blank line. Desktops, Mac minis and laptops with a USB or Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter often number their interfaces differently.
3. networksetup -getinfo Wi-Fi prints the address, subnet mask, router and hardware address together. Swap Wi-Fi for Ethernet if you are plugged in.

A blank result is not an error. It simply means that interface has no address because it is not connected.

Why ipconfig works differently on a Mac

Windows bundled most of its network reporting into a single tool. macOS, built on a Unix foundation, spread the same jobs over several smaller ones. The Mac version of ipconfig is mainly used by system scripts to read specific values, such as the lease a DHCP server handed out. It has no friendly summary mode, so typing ipconfig /all just returns a usage message. That message is the reason so many people end up searching for an ipconfig Mac equivalent in the first place.

Windows commands and their Mac equivalents

What you want	On Windows	On a Mac
Local IP address	ipconfig	ipconfig getifaddr en0
Every adapter in detail	ipconfig /all	ifconfig
Router (default gateway)	ipconfig	networksetup -getinfo Wi-Fi
Renew the address	ipconfig /renew	System Settings, Network, Details, TCP/IP, Renew DHCP Lease
Clear the DNS cache	ipconfig /flushdns	sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
See which DNS servers are used	ipconfig /all	scutil –dns

The DNS flush command needs your administrator password, and Terminal will not show characters as you type it. That is normal. Type it blind and press Return.

Reading the output of ifconfig

Run ifconfig with nothing after it and you get a long wall of text: the loopback interface, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth bridges, virtual adapters left behind by VPN apps and more. Do not try to read it all. Instead:

• Run ifconfig en0 to see only the Wi-Fi interface.
• Find the line that begins with inet. The number after it is your IPv4 address.
• The ether line holds the hardware (MAC) address. Note that recent macOS versions may show a rotating private address for Wi-Fi networks, so it may differ from the one printed on the machine.
• Lines beginning inet6 are IPv6 addresses. Anything starting with fe80 is link-local and only meaningful inside your own network.

If you only want a quick filter, ifconfig en0 | grep "inet " trims the output down to the IPv4 line.

The no-Terminal route: System Settings

You never have to touch the command line. On current macOS, open System Settings, choose Wi-Fi (or Ethernet), click Details beside the network you are connected to, and open the TCP/IP tab. You will see the IP address, subnet mask and router, with a Renew DHCP Lease button underneath. The DNS and Hardware tabs sit alongside it. On older versions the same information lives under System Preferences, Network, Advanced. Apple’s own support site, at support.apple.com, keeps the current menu names for each macOS release.

Local address versus public address

The address you get from the commands above is a private, local one, usually starting with 192.168 or 10. Every device at home has its own. The address the wider internet sees belongs to your router and is shared by everything behind it. To check it, run curl ifconfig.me in Terminal or search for “what is my IP” in a browser. Neither is a stand-in for ipconfig on a Mac, but people frequently want one when they really need the other, so decide which you are after before you start.

This distinction matters in practice. If you are setting up screen mirroring or casting, as in our guide to casting to a Roku TV from a MacBook, both devices must be on the same local network, and comparing local addresses is a quick way to confirm that. The general idea behind the older command is also explained on Wikipedia’s page for ifconfig.

Troubleshooting with a few extra commands

Once you know your addresses, these help when the connection misbehaves:

• ping 8.8.8.8 tests basic connectivity to the internet. Press Control-C to stop it.
• ping followed by your router’s address tests the link to your own network. If this fails but Wi-Fi shows connected, the problem is local.
• netstat -rn lists the routing table, including the default gateway.
• scutil --dns shows which DNS servers the Mac is actually using, which is handy when websites will not load by name but pinging a number works.
• networksetup -listallhardwareports lists every network port with its device name, so you can see which one is en0 and which is en1.

If websites fail to load but pinging 8.8.8.8 works, the fault is nearly always DNS. Flush the cache with the command in the table, or set different DNS servers under the DNS tab in your network details.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

The short version: forget ipconfig /all, and use ipconfig getifaddr en0 for a quick address, networksetup -getinfo Wi-Fi for the fuller picture and ifconfig when you need every detail. If a command feels like too much, System Settings shows the same numbers in a couple of clicks.