How to Check the IP Address in Linux

This updated guide examines How to Check the IP Address in Linux and organizes the essential facts, background, and practical takeaways in clear American English.

Method 1of 2:

Finding Your Public IP Address

1. Understand when to use this method. The public IP address is what websites and services see when you access them from your computer. If you want to try to connect to your computer via a remote connection that isn't on the same network, you'll need the public IP address.
2. Open Terminal. Click or double-click the Terminal app icon, or pressCtrl+Alt+Tto bring up the Terminal window.
3. Enter the public IP command. Typecurl ifconfig.meinto the Terminal window. This command retrieves your public IP address from a website.^[1]
4. Press↵Enter. Doing so runs the command.
5. Wait for your public IP address to appear. The IP address that appears below the command you entered is the public IP address for your network.

Method 2of 2:

Finding Your Private IP Address

1. Understand when to use this method. If you're trying to find the IP address of your computer within your Wi-Fi network (e.g., if you want to forward your router for your computer), you'll need to know the IP address.
2. Open Terminal. Click or double-click the Terminal app icon, or pressCtrl+Alt+Tto bring up the Terminal window.
3. Enter the "Show IP" command. Typeifconfiginto the Terminal window. Other commands you can try include the following:
   • ip addr
   • ip a
4. Press↵Enter. Doing so runs your command and displays the IP address information of any network items, including your computer.
5. Find your computer's heading. You'll usually find your computer's information under the "wlo1" (or "wlan0") heading, just right of the "inet" tag.^[2]
6. Review the private IP address. The IPv4 address is to the right of the "inet" tag. This is the IP address of your computer on your current network.
   • You can usually see the IPv6 address next to the "inet6" tag. The IPv6 address is less commonly used than the IPv4 address.
7. Try the "hostname" command. On some Linux versions, such as Ubuntu, you can bring up your computer's IP address by typing inhostname -I(that's a capital "i", not a lower-case "L") and pressing↵Enter.