Check the IP Address in Linux

No matter what build of Linux or Unix you are running, there are methods for checking your internal IP address from using a simple graphical interface to delving deeper into network information.

Steps

Use the Ubuntu Interface

  1. Right click the network icon in your notifications area. In most builds the icon is two vertical arrows pointing up and down, located near the date and time.
    • If your network icon is not displayed, you can add it back by right clicking the notification area, selecting "Add to Panel," and then "Network Manager".
    • If your network icon still won't display, navigate to System > Administration > Network Tools and select your network device from the drop down menu (usually "Ethernet Interface eth0"). The 10 digit number that displays is your IP address.
  2. Click Connection Information. This should open a window with information on your network connections, including your IP Address.

Enter a Terminal Command in Most Linux Builds

  1. Open Terminal. You can find this in your list of applications or by searching for "terminal".
  2. Enter this command: ip addr show . This should return information on each ethernet device connected.
  3. Each device's IP address is listed after "inet".
    • If you're not sure which device you're looking for, you most likely want "eth0", the first ethernet adapter recognized. To only view information for eth0, enter ip addr show eth0 .

Enter a Terminal Command in Unix, "Unixish", and some Linux Builds

  1. Open a terminal. You can find this in your list of applications or by searching for "terminal".
  2. Enter this command: /sbin/ifconfig . This should display a large block of network information.
    • If you get an error message that mentions your lack of administrative privileges, enter sudo /sbin/ifconfig .
    • If you are using Solaris or some other Unix builds, you may need to enter /sbin/ifconfig -a to display information for more than one device.
    • If you get a message telling you that ifconfig is deprecated, switch to the instructions for Enter a Terminal Command in recent Linux builds above.
  3. Find the IP address for each device listed after "inet adr".
    • If there is too much information for you to find your IP address, enter /sbin/ifconfig | less to limit the amount displayed, or /sbin/ifconfig | grep 'inet addr:' to only display the IP address.
    • If you're not sure which device you're looking for, you most likely want "eth0", the first ethernet adapter recognized. To only view information for eth0, enter /sbin/ifconfig eth0 .

Another Terminal Command for Ubuntu/Unix/Linux

  1. Open a terminal.
  2. Enter this command: hostname -I (that's a capital I as in Idaho)
    • If you have a single interface active, you will get back a single IP address, without any additional text.
      •  % hostname -I
      • 192.168.1.20

Tips

  • If you're looking for your external IP address instead, simply visit a website such as http://www.whatismyip.org , or google "what is my ip?" for many similar websites.

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