How To Check Your IP Address in Ubuntu [Beginner’s Tip]
======
Wonder what’s your IP address? Here are several ways to check IP address in Ubuntu and other Linux distributions.
![][1]
### What is an IP Address?
An**Internet Protocol address**(commonly referred to as **IP address**) is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to acomputer network (using the Internet Protocol).An IP address serves both the purpose of identification and localisation of a machine.
The **IP address** is _unique_ within the network, allowing the communication between all connected devices.
You should also know that there are two **types of IP addresses**: **public** and **private**. The **public IP address** is the address used to communicate over the Internet, the same way your physical address is used for postal mail. However, in the context of a local network (such as a home where are router is used), each device is assigned a **private IP address** unique within this sub-network. This is used inside this local network, without directly exposing the public IP (which is used by the router to communicate with the Internet).
Another distinction can be made between **IPv4** and **IPv6** protocol. **IPv4** is the classic IP format,consisting of a basic 4 part structure, with four bytes separated by dots (e.g. 127.0.0.1). However, with the growing number of devices, IPv4 will soon be unable to offer enough addresses. This is why **IPv6** was invented, a format using **128-bit addresses** (compared to the **32-bit addresses** used by **IPv4**).
## Checking your IP Address in Ubuntu [Terminal Method]
The fastest and the simplest way to check your IP address is by using the ip command. You can use this command in the following fashion:
```
ip addr show
```
It will show you both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses:
![Display IP Address in Ubuntu Linux][2]
Actually, you can further shorten this command to just `ip a`. It will give you the exact same result.
```
ip a
```
If you prefer to get minimal details, you can also use **hostname**:
```
hostname -I
```
There are some other [ways to check IP address in Linux][3] but these two commands are more than enough to serve the purpose.
[][4]
Suggested read How to Disable IPv6 on Ubuntu Linux
What about ifconfig?
Long-time users might be tempted to use ifconfig (part of net-tools), but that program is deprecated. Some newer Linux distributions don’t include this package anymore and if you try running it, you’ll see ifconfig command not found error.
## Checking IP address in Ubuntu [GUI Method]
If you are not comfortable with the command line, you can also check IP address graphically.
Open up the Ubuntu Applications Menu (**Show Applications** in the bottom-left corner of the screen) and search for **Settings** and click on the icon:
![Applications Menu Settings][5]
This should open up the **Settings Menu**. Go to **Network**:
![Network Settings Ubuntu][6]
Pressing on the **gear icon** next to your connection should open up a window with more settings and information about your link to the network, including your IP address:
![IP Address GUI Ubuntu][7]
## Bonus Tip: Checking your Public IP Address (for desktop computers)
First of all, to check your **public IP address** (used for communicating with servers etc.) you can [use curl command][8]. Open up a terminal and enter the following command:
```
curl ifconfig.me
```
This should simply return your IP address with no additional bulk information. I would recommend being careful when sharing this address, since it is the equivalent to giving out your personal address.
**Note:** _If **curl** isn’t installed on your system, simply use **sudo apt install curl -y** to solve the problem, then try again._
Another simple way you can see your public IP address is by searching for **ip address** on Google.
**Summary**
In this article I went through the different ways you can find your IP address in Uuntu Linux, as well as giving you a basic overview of what IP addresses are used for and why they are so important for us.
I hope you enjoyed this quick guide. Let us know if you found this explanation helpful in the comments section!
