View and control IP configuration state.
Syntax
ipconfig waitall
ipconfig getifaddr interface-name
ipconfig ifcount
ipconfig getoption interface-name (option-name | option-code)
ipconfig getpacket interface-name
ipconfig getv6packet interface-name
ipconfig setverbose level
ipconfig set interface-name NONE
ipconfig set interface-name (DHCP | BOOTP)
ipconfig set interface-name (MANUAL | INFORM) ip-address subnet-mask
ipconfig set interface-name NONE-V6
ipconfig set interface-name AUTOMATIC-V6
ipconfig set interface-name MANUAL-V6
ipv6-address prefix-length
ipconfig set interface-name 6TO4
ipconfig is a utility that communicates with the IPConfiguration agent to retrieve and set IP configuration parameters. It should only be used in
a test and debug context. Using it for any other purpose is strongly discouraged. Public API’s in the SystemConfiguration framework are currently the only supported way to access and control the state of IPConfiguration.
The IPConfiguration agent is responsible for configuring and managing the IP addresses on direct, connectionless interfaces such as IEEE 802.3 Ethernet and IEEE 1394 FireWire. The IPConfiguration agent is a program bundle that is loaded and executed by the configd(8) process.
The IPConfiguration agent implements the client side of the DHCP and BOOTP protocols described in RFC951, RFC1542, RFC2131, and RFC2132. It also assigns and maintains static IP addresses. It can also allocate and assign a link-local IP address if DHCP fails to acquire an IP address.
In all cases, the IPConfiguration agent performs IP address conflict detection before assigning an IP address to an interface.
COMMANDS
The ipconfig utility provides several commands:
waitall Blocks until all network services have completed configuring,
or have timed out in the process of configuring. This is
only useful for initial system start-up time synchronization
for legacy network services that are incapable of dealing
with dynamic network configuration changes.
getifaddr interface-name
Prints to standard output the IP address for the first net-
work service associated with the given interface. The output
will be empty if no service is currently configured or active
on the interface.
ifcount Prints the number of interfaces that IPConfiguration is capa-
ble of configuring. The value that’s printed will not change
unless relevant network interfaces are either added to or
removed from the system.
getoption interface-name (option-name | option-code)
Prints the BOOTP/DHCP option with the given name or option
code integer value. See bootpd(8) for option code names. If
an option has multiple values e.g. domain_name_server, only
the first value is printed.
getpacket interface-name
Prints to standard output the DHCP/BOOTP packet that the
client accepted from the DHCP/BOOTP server. This command is
useful to check what the server provided, and whether the
values are sensible. This command outputs nothing if
DHCP/BOOTP is not active on the interface, or the attempt to
acquire an IP address was unsuccessful.
getv6packet interface-name
Prints to standard output the latest DHCPv6 packet that the
client accepted from the DHCPv6 server. In the case of
stateful DHCPv6, it corresponds to the last packet from the
server that contained addressing information. This command
is useful to check what the server provided, and whether the
values are sensible. This command outputs nothing if DHCPv6
is not active on the interface.
set interface-name NONE
set interface-name (DHCP | BOOTP)
set interface-name (MANUAL | INFORM) ip-address subnet-mask
set interface-name NONE-V6
set interface-name AUTOMATIC-V6
set interface-name MANUAL-V6 ipv6-address prefix-length
set interface-name 6TO4
Sets the interface to have a new temporary network service of
the given type. Any existing services on the interface for
the particular protocol (IPv4 or IPv6) are first de-config-
ured before the new service is instantiated.
If NONE is specified, all existing IPv4 services are de-con-
figured. If NONE-V6 is specified, all existing IPv6 services
are de-configured.
DHCP and BOOTP require no additional arguments. The IP
address, subnet mask, router, and DNS information are
retrieved automatically.
Both MANUAL and INFORM require the specification of an IP
address ip-address and a subnet mask subnet-mask.
The INFORM service configures the IP address statically like
MANUAL, but then broadcasts DHCP INFORM packets to retrieve
DHCP option information. If the DHCP server responds and sup-
plies a subnet mask, that subnet mask is used instead of the
specified subnet-mask.
AUTOMATIC-V6 requires no additional arguments. The IPv6
address, prefix length and router are retrieved automati-
cally.
MANUAL-V6 requires the specification of the IPv6 address
ipv6-address and a prefix length prefix-length.
6TO4 only works on Six To Four (IFT_STF) interfaces e.g.
stf0. If it is specified on a non-IFT_STF interface, it has
the same effect as specifying NONE-V6.
The set command requires root privileges.
Note: The set command is very useful for debugging, but it
can’t be used to configure a persistent service. The tempo-
rary services that are created only remain until the next
network configuration change occurs. See scselect(8).
setverbose level
Sets verbose mode logging in the IPConfiguration agent. Spec-
ify a level value of 0 to disable verbose logging, the
default. Specify a value of 1 to enable verbose logging.
When enabled, useful debugging information is logged using
syslog(3) with level LOG_NOTICE. In addition, the packet
trace file /var/log/com.apple.IPConfiguration.bootp is opened
and BOOTP/DHCP packets that are sent and received are printed
to the file.
The setverbose command requires root privileges.
Examples
Display your routers ip address:
$ ipconfig getoption en0 router
192.168.0.1
Renew DHCP Lease:
$ sudo ipconfig set en0 DHCP
Display all DHCP configuration details:
$ ipconfig getpacket en0
op = BOOTREPLY
htype = 1
dp_flags = 0
hlen = 6
hops = 0
xid = 1956115059
secs = 0
ciaddr = 0.0.0.0
yiaddr = 192.168.4.10
siaddr = 192.168.4.1
giaddr = 0.0.0.0
chaddr = 0:3:93:7a:d7:5c
sname = dhcp.mycompany.net
file =
options:
Options count is 10
dhcp_message_type (uint8): ACK 0x5
server_identifier (ip): 192.168.4.1
lease_time (uint32): 0x164a
subnet_mask (ip): 255.255.255.0
router (ip_mult): {192.168.0.1}
domain_name_server (ip_mult): {8.8.4.4}
domain_name (string): mycompany.net
end (none):
Display the DNS Server:
$ ipconfig getoption en0 domain_name_server
8.8.4.4
Clear DNS Cache:
$ sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder
“A Connection Manager connection does not connect after being disconnected” ~ Title of Microsoft KnowledgeBase article
airport - Manage Apple AirPort.
ifconfig - Configure network interface parameters.
netstat(1) - Networking information.
netintro(4)
sysctl(8)
Equivalent Windows command: ipconfig - Configure IP (internet protocol configuration).