Finding Your Linux Computer's MAC Address from the Command Line

Are you trying to find your Linux computer's MAC address? If so, you're in the right place! In this article, we'll show you how to do it using the command line.

A MAC (Media Access Control) address, also known as a physical address, is a unique 12-digit hexadecimal code that identifies each networking interface on your computer. It's made up of six pairs of hex digits separated by colons, like this: MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS. You might have multiple MAC addresses on your computer if you have both WiFi and Ethernet (LAN) ports.

Why would you need to know the MAC address? Well, when you're learning about networking or troubleshooting issues, it's often essential to know the MAC address of a particular device. This is because the MAC address is a core part of networking, and each peripheral device has its own unique identifier.

So, let's get started! To find your Linux computer's MAC address from the command line, you can use one of two methods: Method 1 or Method 2 (which will be covered in another tutorial). For now, we'll focus on Method 1.

Method 1: Using `ip` Command

To find your MAC address using the `ip` command, follow these steps:

1. Open a terminal window.

2. Type `ip link show` and press Enter.

This command will list all network interfaces on your computer, including their IP addresses, netmask, and MAC addresses. The output should look something like this:

```

1: lo: mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000

link/ether 00:11:22:33:44:55 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

2: enp1s0: mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP group default qlen 1000

link/ether 00:11:22:33:44:56 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

3: wlp2s0: mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP group default qlen 1000

link/ether 00:11:22:33:44:57 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

```

In this example, we have three network interfaces: `lo` (loopback), `enp1s0` (Ethernet), and `wlp2s0` (WiFi). Each interface has a unique MAC address listed in the `link/ether` field.

To find your desired MAC address, simply look for the interface you're interested in and note down its MAC address. For example, if you want to know the MAC address of your WiFi card, look for the `wlp2s0` interface and note down `00:11:22:33:44:57`.

That's it! You've successfully found your Linux computer's MAC address from the command line using Method 1. In our next article, we'll cover Method 2, which uses a different approach to find the MAC address.

I hope this helps you find the MAC address of your Linux computer. Let me know if you have any questions or need further assistance!

Linux command line get mac address