How to Get Your MAC Address in Linux Using Terminal

In this article, we will explore how to obtain your Media Access Control (MAC) address on a Linux system using terminal commands.

The first step is to open up your terminal. If you are new to Linux, don't worry! You can usually find the terminal by searching for it in your computer's application menu or dashboard.

Once you have opened the terminal, there are several ways to get your MAC address. One common method involves using the `ip` command, which is a powerful tool that replaces older commands like ifconfig and route. To use this method, simply type:

```bash

ip link show | grep ether

```

This will display information about each network interface on your system, including their corresponding MAC addresses.

Another way to get your MAC address involves using the `nmcli` command, which is a part of NetworkManager, a popular Linux networking tool. To use this method, simply type:

```bash

nmcli dev show | grep 'GENERAL.HWADDR'

```

This will also display information about each network interface on your system, including their corresponding MAC addresses.

For those who prefer to use Nmap, you can scan for devices and get a list of IP-to-MAC address pairs by typing the following command:

```bash

nmap -sP 192.168.1.*

```

This will scan the specified network range (in this case, `192.168.1.*`) for hosts that are up and running.

To filter Nmap's output to only show IP-to-MAC address pairs, you can create a simple sed script as follows:

```bash

sed -E 's/^(.*)$('^)'+)$$/\2 \1/p' nmap.txt > ip_mac_map.txt

```

This will save the filtered output to a file named `ip_mac_map.txt`.

In summary, getting your MAC address on Linux is easy and can be done using various terminal commands. Whether you prefer the simplicity of `ip link show`, the power of Nmap, or something else entirely, there's an option out there for everyone.

Additional Tip: To find which default router (or gateway) your machine has set up, use the following command:

```bash

ip route list | grep 'default'

```

This will display a line starting with 'default' and followed by the IP address of the router.

Get mac address terminal linux