Unix Shell – Finding the Public IP Address in a Shell Script

shellunix

I can find my IP address using ifconfig or hostname -i command.

But how do I find my Public IP?

(I have a static public IP but I want to find it out using unix command)

Best Answer

curl ifconfig.me

curl ifconfig.me/ip (for just the ip)

curl ifconfig.me/all (for more info, takes time)

For more commands visit: http://ifconfig.me/#cli_wrap

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Directories on Unix and Unix-like Systems – Understanding Their Meaning

For more data on the layout of Linux file-systems, look at the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (now at version 2.3, with the beta 3.0 version deployed on most recent distros). It does explain some of where the names came from:

/bin - Binaries.
/boot - Files required for booting.
/dev - Device files.
/etc - Et cetera. The name is inherited from the earliest Unixes, which is when it became the spot to put config-files.
/home - Where home directories are kept.
/lib - Where code libraries are kept.
/media - A more modern directory, but where removable media gets mounted.
/mnt - Where temporary file-systems are mounted.
/opt - Where optional add-on software is installed. This is discrete from /usr/local/ for reasons I'll get to later.
/run - Where runtime variable data is kept.
/sbin - Where super-binaries are stored. These usually only work with root.
/srv - Stands for "serve". This directory is intended for static files that are served out. /srv/http would be for static websites, /srv/ftp for an FTP server.
/tmp - Where temporary files may be stored.
/usr - Another directory inherited from the Unixes of old, it stands for "UNIX System Resources". It does not stand for "user" (see the Debian Wiki). This directory should be sharable between hosts, and can be NFS mounted to multiple hosts safely. It can be mounted read-only safely.
/var - Another directory inherited from the Unixes of old, it stands for "variable". This is where system data that varies may be stored. Such things as spool and cache directories may be located here. If a program needs to write to the local file-system and isn't serving that data to someone directly, it'll go here.

/opt vs /usr/local

The rule of thumb I've seen is best described as:

Use /usr/local for things that would normally go into /usr, or are overriding things that are already in /usr. Use /opt for things that install all in one directory, or are otherwise special.

Linux – How to find out the IP address on a unix-like box

ifconfig is usually in /sbin. Depending on what system you're running this mightn't be on your path (in particular, RedHat systems don't include this on the default path)

Try:

$ /sbin/ifconfig

If it works then that's the issue, and you should change your path via your .bashrc (or whatever shell you're using).

export PATH=$PATH:/sbin:/usr/sbin

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Directories on Unix and Unix-like Systems – Understanding Their Meaning

Linux – How to find out the IP address on a unix-like box

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