How to obtain public ip address using windows command prompt?

Learn how to obtain public ip address using windows command prompt? with practical examples, diagrams, and best practices. Covers windows, shell, ip development techniques with visual explanations.
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How to Find Your Public IP Address Using Windows Command Prompt

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Discover various command-line methods to quickly identify your public IP address on a Windows system, essential for networking and troubleshooting.

Understanding your public IP address is crucial for many networking tasks, from configuring port forwarding to troubleshooting connectivity issues. While many online services can show you this information, sometimes you need to retrieve it directly from your system using the command prompt. This article will guide you through several reliable methods to obtain your public IP address using standard Windows command-line tools.

Understanding Public vs. Private IP Addresses

Before diving into the commands, it's important to differentiate between public and private IP addresses. Your private IP address is assigned by your router to devices within your local network (e.g., 192.168.1.x, 10.0.0.x). Your public IP address, on the other hand, is assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and is the address your entire network uses to communicate with the internet. All devices on your local network share the same public IP address when accessing external resources.

flowchart TD
    A[Your Device] --> B{Router/Gateway}
    B --> C[ISP Network]
    C --> D[Internet]
    subgraph Local Network
        A
        B
    end
    subgraph External Network
        C
        D
    end
    A -- "Private IP (e.g., 192.168.1.10)" --> B
    B -- "Public IP (e.g., 203.0.113.45)" --> C

Diagram illustrating the difference between private and public IP addresses.

Method 1: Using nslookup with a DNS Service

One of the most straightforward ways to find your public IP is by querying a DNS service that reflects your external IP. OpenDNS provides a simple way to do this using the nslookup command.

nslookup myip.opendns.com resolver1.opendns.com

Using nslookup to query OpenDNS for your public IP.

In the output, look for the 'Address' field under the Non-authoritative answer section. This will be your public IP address. The resolver1.opendns.com part specifies the DNS server to use for the query, ensuring you get an external perspective.

Method 2: Leveraging External Web Services with curl or Invoke-WebRequest

Many websites are designed to simply return your public IP address. You can access these services directly from the command line using curl (available in modern Windows 10/11 builds) or PowerShell's Invoke-WebRequest.

Command Prompt (curl)

curl ifconfig.me curl ipinfo.io/ip curl api.ipify.org

PowerShell (Invoke-WebRequest)

(Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://ifconfig.me/ip").Content (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://ipinfo.io/ip").Content (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://api.ipify.org").Content

These commands send a request to the specified web service, which then returns your public IP address as plain text. This is often the quickest and most direct method.

Method 3: Using tracert (Less Direct, More for Troubleshooting)

While not a direct method to display your public IP, tracert (traceroute) can indirectly reveal the first hop outside your local network, which is typically your router's public-facing IP. This method is more useful for understanding network paths but can confirm your external IP if you know what to look for.

tracert 8.8.8.8

Using tracert to trace the route to Google's DNS server.

The first IP address listed after your local network hops (usually 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x) will often be your public IP address, or at least the first hop your ISP provides. This method is less reliable for a direct public IP retrieval compared to the others but offers insight into your network's external gateway.

Conclusion

Knowing how to quickly find your public IP address from the command prompt is a valuable skill for any Windows user. Whether you prefer the nslookup method, the direct web service queries with curl or Invoke-WebRequest, or even the diagnostic tracert command, these tools provide robust ways to get the information you need without relying solely on web browsers. Choose the method that best fits your immediate needs and system configuration.