The complete guide to ipconfig, ifconfig and friends

Whether you typed ipconfig into a Windows Command Prompt, ifconfig into a Mac or Linux terminal, or you just want to know why your computer has an address starting with 169.254, this site explains the tools, decodes the output and shows you the modern replacements.

Windowsipconfig /all

Linux (modern)ip -br addr

macOS / BSD / older Linuxifconfig

PowerShellGet-NetIPConfiguration

Start with your platform

Windows

ipconfig

All 13 switches explained with real output, wildcards, DHCP class IDs, compartments and the errors you will actually see.

Linux · macOS · BSD

ifconfig

The 1983 original. Reading flags, setting addresses, aliases, MTU and promiscuous mode, and how output differs between Linux, macOS and FreeBSD.

Linux

ip (iproute2)

The replacement for ifconfig, route and arp: addr, link, route, neigh, netns, JSON output and a side-by-side migration table.

macOS

ipconfig, networksetup, scutil

Yes, macOS has its own ipconfig, and it is nothing like the Windows one. Plus DNS, Wi-Fi and location commands.

Windows

netsh & PowerShell

Everything ipconfig cannot do: set static addresses, change DNS servers, reset the TCP/IP stack, dump Wi-Fi passwords and script it all.

Linux

nmcli, ss, resolvectl, ethtool

NetworkManager, systemd-networkd, Netplan, DHCP clients and the config files behind the commands.

Everything else

BSD, Solaris, Cisco, Android, Docker, WSL

The same job on routers, phones, containers and Unix systems you might meet in a data centre.

Reference

Cross-platform cheat sheet

One table: the same task on Windows CMD, PowerShell, Linux ip, ifconfig and macOS. Print it.

Do a specific job

Beginners

Open a command line

Command Prompt, PowerShell, Terminal; run as administrator or with sudo; copy and save the output.

How-to

Set a static IP address

Every platform, plus why a DHCP reservation on the router is usually the better answer.

How-to

Change DNS servers

Cloudflare, Google, Quad9 and others; per device, per router, per browser; encrypted DNS.

How-to

Find your router's IP

The default gateway, default logins for UK ISP hubs and major brands, and what 192.168.1.254 means.

How-to

Flush the DNS cache

Windows, every macOS version, Linux resolvers, browsers and routers.

How-to

IPv6: check, prefer IPv4, disable

Why you have four IPv6 addresses, how to tell if IPv6 works, and the right way to turn it off.

How-to

MAC addresses

Find, change, randomise; OUI lookup; why MAC filtering is not security.

Explainer

How DHCP works

DISCOVER, OFFER, REQUEST, ACK; leases and renewal; options; reservations; rogue servers.

Tool

Subnet & IPv6 calculator

Network, broadcast, host range, wildcard and binary from any address and mask. IPv6 expand and compress.

Automation

Scripts

Get just the IP, alert on public IP change, export a report, wait for the network, toggle static and DHCP.

Fix

Error messages A–Z

Every message these tools print, with the cause and the fix.

Fix

Troubleshooting playbook

169.254 addresses, no gateway, media disconnected, DNS, duplicate IPs, MTU, Wi-Fi with no internet.

The tools around ipconfig

ping, traceroute, mtr

Options on each platform, reading replies and every error message, pathping and tracepath.

nslookup, dig, host

Query any record type, ask a specific server, trace delegation, read dig output.

netstat, ss, lsof

What is listening, what is connected, and what is using port 8080.

Wi-Fi from the command line

SSID, signal, channel, saved passwords, scanning and connecting on Windows, macOS and Linux.

iwconfig, iwlist, iwgetid

The legacy Linux wireless tools: reading their output and what replaced them.

ip a, ip a s, ip r

Every ip shortcut expanded, and the one that does not mean what you think.

route

route print, add, delete and persistent routes on Windows, Linux, macOS and BSD.

arp

The ARP cache, static entries, arping, and spotting duplicate addresses or spoofing.

hostname

See and change the computer name; how devices find each other by name.

netsh reference

Every context that matters: interface, wlan, advfirewall, winsock, portproxy, trace.

tcpdump, Wireshark, pktmon

See the actual packets: filters, recipes for DHCP, DNS and ARP, and reading a handshake.

Firewall commands

Is the port blocked, and where? Windows Firewall, ufw, firewalld, nftables, iptables, pf.

Every device on your network

Router list, arp-scan, nmap, mDNS, and identifying the one you do not recognise.

Speed and throughput

speedtest, curl and iperf3; link speed vs real throughput; bufferbloat.

Command index A–Z

Every command on the site, alphabetically, with platform and purpose.

Which command looks where

Each tool inspects one stretch of the path from your interface to the internet.

What these commands actually do

Every computer on a network has a set of interface settings: an IP address (or several), a subnet mask or prefix length, a default gateway, DNS servers and a hardware (MAC) address. These commands show you those settings and, in some cases, change them.

Tool	Platform	Shows settings	Changes settings	Status
`ipconfig`	Windows	Yes	Only DHCP release/renew, DNS cache, class IDs	Current, built in
`ifconfig`	Linux	Yes	Yes (address, mask, MTU, up/down…)	Deprecated since ~2009, often not installed
`ifconfig`	macOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD	Yes	Yes, including Wi-Fi and VLANs on BSD	Current, actively maintained
`ip`	Linux	Yes	Yes, everything	Current, the standard tool
`netsh`	Windows	Yes	Yes, static IP, DNS, reset stack	Current, partly superseded by PowerShell
PowerShell `Get-Net*`	Windows	Yes	Yes, via `New-`/`Set-` cmdlets	Current, recommended for scripting
`networksetup`	macOS	Yes	Yes, per network service	Current
`nmcli`	Linux with NetworkManager	Yes	Yes, persistent	Current

The five-second version

Windows · Command Prompt

ipconfig
ipconfig /all
ipconfig /release
ipconfig /renew
ipconfig /flushdns

The first line shows address, mask and gateway per adapter. /all adds MAC address, DHCP server, lease times and DNS servers. Full ipconfig reference →

Linux · Terminal

ip -br addr          # one line per interface
ip addr show         # full detail
ip route             # routing table and default gateway
ip neigh             # ARP / neighbour cache
resolvectl status    # DNS servers (systemd-resolved)

If you type ifconfig and get command not found, that is expected on modern distributions. Fix or replace it →

macOS · Terminal

ifconfig en0                     # Wi-Fi on most Macs
ipconfig getifaddr en0           # just the IPv4 address
networksetup -getinfo "Wi-Fi"    # address, mask, router, MAC
scutil --dns                     # DNS configuration
route -n get default             # default gateway

Full macOS reference →

Windows · PowerShell

Get-NetIPConfiguration
Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4
Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object Status -eq Up
Get-DnsClientServerAddress
Clear-DnsClientCache

Full netsh and PowerShell reference →

Common questions, answered directly

Why does my computer have an IP address starting 169.254?: Your DHCP request went unanswered, so the operating system self-assigned a link-local address (APIPA on Windows, "self-assigned" on macOS). You will not reach the internet with it. Diagnose it →
Is ipconfig the same as ifconfig?: No. They share a purpose and a similar name but nothing else: different platforms, different syntax, different abilities. Full comparison →
How do I find my public IP address?: None of these commands show it, because your router translates addresses. Use the live checker or curl ipconfig.co.uk/ip from any terminal.
What is the difference between ipconfig /release and /renew?: Release tells the DHCP server you are giving the address back and leaves the adapter with no address. Renew asks for a lease again. You usually run both, in that order. Details →
How do I flush the DNS cache?: Windows ipconfig /flushdns; macOS sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder; Linux resolvectl flush-caches. Every platform, including browsers →

How this site is organised

Command references cover one tool each, every option, with sample output you can compare to your own screen.
Reading the output explains what each line means: subnet masks and CIDR, IPv6 address types, temporary addresses, zone IDs, MAC formats, DHCP leases.
Troubleshooting is a symptom-first playbook: no gateway, media disconnected, can ping an IP but not a name, duplicate addresses, DHCP failures.
How-to guides walk through one job each: static IP, DNS servers, router address, IPv6, MAC addresses, DHCP, scripts.
Background pages cover the history from 4.2BSD to iproute2, a glossary and an FAQ.