Mac terminal network commands. By default it provides a bash shell.

Mac terminal network commands Type ‘arp -a’ command and hit Enter. Here we show you how to use the Terminal to scan and troubleshoot your local network. Jul 30, 2025 · Efficient for deploying DNS changes across multiple devices macOS includes a built-in utility called networksetup, a command-line tool that lets you configure network services, including DNS settings. Restart your Mac in Recovery Mode by holding Command ⌘ + R. Nov 28, 2024 · Terminal is one of the most powerful macOS apps, allowing you to perform actions with different commands. Export variable. The shells supplied by Apple are often years out of date, so many people prefer to install the latest bash shell using homebrew. This post concludes all the basic and helpful command lines for improving work efficiency on Mac, and you can read this Mac Terminal command cheat sheet for sharing or bookmarks! Why do we need a Mac Terminal commands cheat sheet? Apr 10, 2018 · There's a Terminal command called arp that lets you find network devices on your local area network (LAN). 10 Traceroute Terminal Command Traceroute was another useful Network Utility troubleshooting tool, and Terminal won’t leave you disappointed with its version. com Jun 21, 2025 · Comprehensive guide to macOS network diagnostic commands including ping, traceroute, netstat, mtr, and networkQuality. Feb 20, 2013 · Erik Eckel explains how to use three common commands to find networking issues and troubleshoot them. Sep 6, 2023 · tcpdump Command Get the dump of your network using the tcpdump packet analyzer command. It lists over 50 commands for getting IP addresses, viewing network information, configuring locations and interfaces, scanning ports, capturing packets, and more. ). Jul 15, 2025 · Knowing the right Terminal commands can help you perform these actions efficiently. Learn how to use Terminal on your Mac to interact with macOS using the command line. Terminal provides tools to check your disk’s health Mar 25, 2022 · Make your Mac admin life easier. Dec 22, 2023 · 2) Monitoring network activity with netstat/iftop Another important aspect of system performance is network activity. The counts for network structures are updated periodically dns-sd Sep 28, 2021 · An example Terminal command on a Mac looks like this: nslookup apple. Both active and inactive network interfaces are listed, in the order that they are used by the OS and with a lot of details (MAC-address, interface name, router, subnet mask etc. Tap Details next to your Wi-Fi network, click TCP/IP tab > Renew DHCP Lease > Apply > OK. To launch terminal goto Applications and click Utilities folder. Although Terminal commands may seem intimidating to carry out, they aren’t! Once you know them, you can quickly perform tasks like shutting down your Mac or copying contents from one place to another in a few clicks. If you're just getting started, read on for our Mac Terminal commands cheat sheet for quick reference in the future. Oct 29, 2020 · In a recent article, I wrote about getting around in your wifi environment, using the airport utility available on your Mac terminal, in this article, we will look at Network commands, starting Feb 11, 2025 · Master ipconfig/ifconfig terminal mac commands to effortlessly manage your network settings on macOS. We’ll also come across the ‘networksetup’ command that allows you to manage network settings from the command line like a ninja. However, the Command Prompt is much more powerful than just that. The commands can help automate network tasks and troubleshoot issues on Mac systems. Steps to Change DNS on a Mac Using Terminal Note: This example uses CleanBrowsing’s Free Family Filter DNS servers. The first show command tells you the name of the primary interface for the OS (i. View variable value. The networksetup command requires at least admin privileges to change network settings. With it, instead of pointing and clicking, you type your commands and your Mac does your . Jun 14, 2022 · Now that you know how to perform a network speed test from your Mac’s native Terminal window, you won’t need to fret about your favorite speed test websites being blocked by your system administrator. Reference 23. OS X is a POSIX compliant UNIX system and has all the standard network management tools and commands. You can use the scutil command to list active network interface (s) with their IPv4&6 addresses: scutil --nwi Dec 21, 2024 · Our guide explores Mac terminal commands, offering tips and tricks to enhance your macOS experience and productivity. Applications > Utilities > Terminal. Learn different ways to leverage Mac terminal commands and simplify the management of your macOS fleet. Jan 30, 2013 · In addition to using the system preferences, you can adjust Wi-Fi network configuration in OS X via Terminal. The Getmac command can also be used with various switches to provide additional information or to modify the way that the information is displayed. this will be the one on top of the list in your System Preferences / Network Preferences window), as well as the Apr 14, 2023 · If you prefer using commands instead of menus, you can forget a WiFi network on your Mac using the Terminal app. 253. b. 0/24 range, you can use the following command: Mar 8, 2018 · Anyone know what command can I use to check my Internet speed in the Terminal app? May be I can use curl command and add some IP addresses, like the to check our IP and Country location via curl i Sep 10, 2025 · Learn about the basic and most commonly used Mac Terminal commands to get you started in mastering the powerful macOS tool. In this comprehensive Mac Terminal commands cheat sheet, we’ve compiled essential commands for file management, networking, system diagnostics, and more, tailored to meet your needs. Get an ip address for en0: ipconfig getifaddr en0 Same thing, but setting and echoing a variable: See full list on phoenixnap. Mac Terminal Commands Cheat Sheet List all environment variables. Nov 27, 2025 · Therefore, it's a necessity to know some basic Mac Terminal command lines if you take a Mac as your workstation. For example, if your network uses the 192. sh shows information about a Macs network configuration. Open Terminal, type sudo ifconfig en0 down to turn off Wi-Fi, and sudo ifconfig en0 up to restart it. Dec 22, 2024 · This comprehensive guide will walk you through the most useful Terminal commands for viewing IP addresses and managing network connections on MacOS. Feb 19, 2025 · Check out 5 easy-to-use methods for how to reset network settings on Mac using System Settings, Terminal, and apps. We recommend bookmarking this article on A number of the commands you mention exist on MacOS. It will show IP addresses and MAC addresses, and is useful for troubleshooting and other Feb 10, 2025 · Consider reading this article to explore the list of Mac Terminal commands that will help you navigate the macOS platform quickly and efficiently. This article takes a look at ten terminal commands that can be used to troubleshoot network issues on MacOS. Using Terminal (macOS/Linux): For macOS and Linux users, you can easily find the MAC address using Terminal with these steps: a. 10. 144. Terminal Nov 12, 2024 · Networking commands are typically used through a Command-Line Interface (CLI) like “command prompt” in Windows, “terminal” in Linux/macOS, or other networking devices (such as routers and switches) that support CLI. Note, that you will need administrative privileges to run this command. 168. You can take things to the next level by learning and using a couple of advanced commands, including a range of handy network-related commands. Terminal is originated in Mac OS X’s predecessors, NeXTSTEP and OPENSTEP, and allows the user to interact with the computer through a command line interface with useful Terminal Commands. Some may be optional installs, and some stuff will need to be compiled if it's not in the system already. This document provides a cheat sheet of Mac network commands for system administrators. Oct 10, 2010 · Mac Network Commands Cheat Sheet After writing up the presentation for MacSysAdmin in Sweden, I decided to go ahead and throw these into a quick cheat sheet for anyone who’d like to have them all in one place. To see netstat's available options, type man netstat at the command prompt. Dec 3, 2021 · The Terminal in macOS is a handy tool for troubleshooting. Oct 2, 2023 · These 20 essential Mac terminal commands allow you to easily navigate the system, manage files, perform system tasks and more. The OSX terminal has several command line tools that allow you to manage your WiFi settings. Use the lsof command to make up for netstat's missing or limited functionality, including displaying any files currently open in any apps. While it might seem intimidating at first, mastering basic Terminal commands can significantly boost your productivity and give you greater control Sep 18, 2015 · Jesus Vigo reviews Terminal commands used to enable, modify, and manage Wi-Fi connections on Macs in OS X. Limit netstat's output with flags and options. All you need to do is enter several commands in Terminal and it will perform the tasks to reconnect to the WiFi. The networksetup command is used to configure network settings typically configured in the System Preferences application. Feb 13, 2025 · Understanding how to locate your Mac’s IP address is crucial for a myriad of networking tasks. Oct 2, 2024 · Let us take a look at 50 must-know macOS Terminal Commands with examples 2. By default it provides a bash shell. Before you can try the commands below, you should launch the Terminal app first. 2 Use Terminal to Troubleshoot Network Issues macOS provides several network identification and diagnostic commands that you can access in Terminal. Mac Terminal WIFI Commands I'm seeing over a thousand people a day show up here looking for the mac terminal WiFi commands. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to use the netstat command to check network connections on your Mac. If your system relies heavily on network connections, it’s important to be able to monitor traffic and identify potential bottlenecks. It provides control over network interfaces, locations, and Oct 3, 2022 · To run netstat and see detailed data about your Mac's network, open a new Terminal window, type netstat, and press Enter. This guide focuses on using terminal commands to retrieve both your local and public IP Dec 17, 2024 · The networksetup command is a powerful tool available in macOS for configuring various network settings directly from the Terminal. Whether you’re troubleshooting connectivity issues, configuring network settings, or establishing secure SSH connections, knowing how to find this information efficiently can save time and enhance security. Netstat and iftop are two useful commands for this purpose. Jan 9, 2025 · The networksetup command is a powerful command-line utility on macOS that allows users to manage and configure network settings. I suggest you learn how to call up "man pages" for documentation (hint, in terminal use 'man COMMAND' to call up the man page for COMMAND). Oct 11, 2025 · Command Prompt proved to be one of the best tools for running basic commands that allow you to work with files and folders from Windows. Oct 10, 2010 · Finally, the script network_info. Jun 30, 2021 · Foreign to Mac Terminal? Check out these essential macOS Terminal commands to use your Mac more efficiently. Jun 16, 2025 · macOS Terminal Essential Commands Guide for Beginners Introduction: Why Learn Terminal Commands? The Terminal is one of the most powerful tools in macOS, offering direct access to the Unix-based system underneath the beautiful graphical interface. Best of all, you also learned a useful Terminal command. ping —Test Please note, that the above, even though is a command-line command, is also interactive (so you run scutil and then enter its own commands into it). Discover tips for seamless connectivity troubleshooting. Find the up-to-date list of macOS commands and tricks. Open Terminal from the utilities folder in Applications (macOS) or through searching it (Linux). This includes, but isn’t limited to, the following: ifconfig (interface configuration)—Inspect details regarding hardware network interfaces. Checking System Disk Health The integrity of your filesystem is crucial for system performance. Click Disk The Getmac command will then display the MAC address, the network adapter name, and the type of networking for each adapter. e. To forget WiFi networks on a Mac using the Terminal app: 3 days ago · TL;DR To reset network settings on Mac, follow one of these methods: Go to System Settings > Network and choose the network type. Learn essential command-line tools for troubleshooting connectivity issues, analyzing network performance, and monitoring Wi-Fi networks on macOS systems. Nov 27, 2025 · The easiest way to reset MacBook network settings is using Terminal, Mac's command-line interface. Sep 1, 2024 · To perform a basic scan of your local network, you need to specify the IP range of your network. Aug 20, 2025 · Explore 10 helpful Mac Terminal commands every IT admin should know. Perfect for macOS users! Apr 26, 2024 · The Mac Terminal can seem boring and hard to use, but if you invest time learning the ins and outs, you can perform tasks without clicking around much. com For a reverse lookup, use the IP address of the domain: nslookup 17. Good luck out there, and stay salty. Please turn on JavaScript in your browser and refresh the page to view its content. c. app This will open the BASH command line interface which is where those commands can be entered. Jan 29, 2025 · Diagnosing System Issues with Terminal Now that we’re familiar with the basic operations of the Terminal, we can move onto specific commands and methods that will help in diagnosing a range of issues from disk problems to network malfunctions. MacOS offers an array of tools that can help simplify this task. Jan 22, 2025 · Learn more about Mac Terminal commands that could improve your productivity. The feature works similarly to ping but allows you to track where packets go, where Feb 16, 2024 · With the addition of MTR and automated network troubleshooting tools, you can diagnose and fix issues with minimal downtime, ultimately improving network performance. Commands marked • are bashbuilt-in commands. It allows users to manage network interfaces, configure Wi-Fi connections, manage DNS settings, and perform other network-related tasks without the need to open System Preferences. Feb 10, 2025 · Master Mac Terminal with our cheat sheet: essential commands for file management, system monitoring, and networking. In addition to the tools u/Prestigious-Dot-9963 mentioned, you might try nettop: the nettop program displays a list of sockets or routes. Invest some time in learning these essential Terminal commands, and you’ll become a master network troubleshooter! Mar 14, 2024 · OSX Network Cheat Sheet: A quick reference guide for networking commands and configurations on macOS, essential for system administrators. sudo tcpdump -i en0 If you want to monitor network traffic in real-time on the Terminal you can make use of the console-based network bandwidth monitoring tool called iftop. Feb 11, 2024 · Researching network issues on MacOS can seem like an overwhelming task. Jul 6, 2022 · Terminal (in your /Applications/Utilities folder) is the default gateway to that command line on a Mac. Learn how to troubleshoot, automate tasks, and manage macOS devices seamlessly. Connecting, disconnecting and scanning for available WiFi networks is easy once you know which command does what. This blog will walk you through setting up wireless connections and configuring network settings for your macOS. Sep 13, 2023 · This comprehensive guide features 20 Linux network commands with a free downloadable PDF cheat sheet to optimize your network with ease. In macOS Catalina the default shell was changed to zsh and in time this page may be updated to include the zsh variants. Jan 17, 2023 · Although network connections may seem as easy as toggling the switches, behind-the-scene connections make it all happen. netstat (network status)—View routing information and network statistics. May 20, 2017 · The Terminal is a program included with all versions of Mac OS X.