---
title: "How to Use PowerShell to Get an IP Address"
description: "If you need to use PowerShell to get an IP address from a Windows computer, check out this post where we cover this task step-by-step."
canonical: "https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-get-ip-address/"
---

# How to Use PowerShell to Get an IP Address

> If you need to use PowerShell to get an IP address from a Windows computer, check out this post where we cover this task step-by-step.

Source: https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-get-ip-address/

---

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![How to Use PowerShell to Get an IP Address](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/How-to-Use-PowerShell-to-Get-an-IP-Address.jpg)

# How to Use PowerShell to Get an IP Address

[![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/d0b9d42e21e5622713f8b693aa5c0f9244d5f7dd200ed29b8398f52dee5de337?s=192&d=mm&r=g)Adam Bertram](https://adamtheautomator.com/author/adam-bertram/)10 March 20216 min. read

Categories: [IT Ops](/category/it-ops/)

Tags:[PowerShell](/tag/powershell/)

Table of Contents

*   [Prerequisites](#h-prerequisites)
*   [Using Get-NetIPAddress](#h-using-get-netipaddress)
*   [Why Use CIM/WMI?](#h-why-use-cim-wmi)
*   [Querying CIM Without a Session](#h-querying-cim-without-a-session)
*   [Creating a CIM Session](#h-creating-a-cim-session)
*   [Finding the Right Network Adapter](#h-finding-the-right-network-adapter)
*   [Conclusion](#h-conclusion)

IT admins can do a lot with PowerShell and the command line; working with Windows networking is one of those ways. In this tutorial, you’re going to learn how to use PowerShell to get IP addresses from network adapters on a Windows computer with the `Get-NetIPAddress` cmdlet and [_WMI_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wmisdk/wmi-start-page).

## Prerequisites

This tutorial will assume you’re on a Windows 10 or greater computer with Windows PowerShell v5.1 installed. It is also assumed that you’re in an Active Directory environment. If not, be sure to learn about the [_`Credential` property on the `New-CimSession` cmdlet_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/cimcmdlets/new-cimsession?view=powershell-7.1#example-5--create-a-cim-session-to-a-computer-using-a-pscredential-object).

## Using `Get-NetIPAddress`

PowerShell has various cmdlets to work with network connections such as `[_Get-NetAdapter_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/netadapter/get-netadapter?view=win10-ps)`, `[_Get-NetAdapterBinding_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/netadapter/get-netadapterbinding?view=win10-ps)`, and even one specifically to find IP addresses called `[_Get-NetIPAddress_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/nettcpip/get-netipaddress?view=win10-ps)`. If you want to use PowerShell to get the IP address in a simple script, by all means, use these cmdlets.

> _Keep it simple. If PowerShell offers a simpler way to do something, do it!_

For example, to find the IPv4 address on all network adapters on a local computer, run a single line.

```powershell
Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPV4
```

![Finding IPV4 addresses with Get-NetIPAddress](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Untitled-2021-03-03T102406.914.png)

Finding IPV4 addresses with Get-NetIPAddress

The output above references a specific network adapter such as the Ethernet adapter and returns only the IP address.

![Getting the IP address from a specific adapter](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Untitled-2021-03-03T102443.709.png)

Getting the IP address from a specific adapter

You’re done! Simply using PowerShell to get an IP address is a straightforward process, at least much more so than using other means.

> _If you’re not a fan of PowerShell, you can also use the ipconfig command to get an IP address. Look more on ipconfig at [The Ipconfig Commands You Need to Know](https://adamtheautomator.com/ipconfig-commands/)._

## Why Use CIM/WMI?

When you run the `Get-NetIPAddress` cmdlet, PowerShell is actually querying WMI to retrieve that information. Why is it important to know this? Because you can query WMI directly yourself. But why use WMI when you can use a single command?

One of the most common reasons to use WMI over a single command like `Get-NetIPAddress` is when you’re already querying WMI. WMI contains _lots_ of system information that comes in handy when building scripts for inventory purposes.

When communicating with WMI with PowerShell, you can create a [_CIM session_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.core/about/about_cimsession?view=powershell-7.1) much like a PSRemoting session. Using a session is an efficient way to authenticate to a computer once and reuse that connection repeatedly.

Related:[PowerShell Remoting: The Ultimate Guide](https://adamtheautomator.com/psremoting/)

> _Use CIM to get an IP address when you’re building this task as part of a larger script._

## Querying CIM Without a Session

When you’re building a PowerShell script using CIM to query various pieces of information, you should use a reusable CIM session. Reusing a single session not only speeds up your script but also reduces code duplication.

For example, perhaps you’d like to find what operating system a remote Windows computer is running. CIM holds the OS name in a property called Caption inside of the Win32\_OperatingSystem class. To get this information, you’d use the [`Get-CimInstance` cmdlet](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/cimcmdlets/get-ciminstance) below, specifying the computer name (`REMOTECOMPUTER`), the CIM class (`Win32_OperatingSystem`), and referencing only the `Caption` property on the object.

```powershell
(Get-CimInstance -ComputerName REMOTECOMPUTER -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem).Caption
```

When you run `Get-CimInstance`, PowerShell must find the remote computer, pass the logged-in credentials to it and _finally_ query CIM for the information you need. There’s a lot of overhead that comes with running `Get-CimInstance` without a session.

What if you’re building a server inventory script and also want to find information about storage, memory, networking, and so on? In that case, you’d have a lot of `Get-CimInstance` commands like below.

```powershell
Get-CimInstance -ComputerName REMOTECOMPUTER -ClassName Win32_LogicalDisk
Get-CimInstance -ComputerName REMOTECOMPUTER -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem
Get-CimInstance -ComputerName REMOTECOMPUTER -ClassName Win32_PhysicalMemory
Get-CimInstance -ComputerName REMOTECOMPUTER -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapter
```

Your script will connect to `REMOTECOMPUTER` four times in the above code snippet, and what if the computer name changes? You’re going to have to find/replace that computer name, which is never a good sign while coding.

## Creating a CIM Session

Instead of using `Get-CimInstance` with a session, you should create a single CIM session with the `[_New-CimSession_](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/cimcmdlets/new-cimsession)` cmdlet and _reuse_ that session repeatedly.

Instead of authenticating to a remote computer over and over, create a single CIM session with `New-CimSession` and pass that session to `Get-CimInstance` like below.

```powershell
$remoteComputer = 'REMOTECOMPUTER'
$cimSession = New-CimSession -ComputerName $remoteComputer

Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_LogicalDisk
Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_OperatingSystem
Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_PhysicalMemory
Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapter
```

Once you’re done with the session, disconnect and remove it from memory.

```powershell
$cimSession | Remove-CimSession
```

Using CIM sessions like above is a great way to work with CIM/WMI.

## Finding the Right Network Adapter

Since a Windows computer can have different network adapters, you must first narrow down which network adapter you’d like to get the IP address from. When using WMI, use the Win32\_NetworkAdapterConfiguration class. This class provides much of the information that the `Get-NetIPAddress` returns.

First, create a PowerShell script with the remote computer’s name, create a new CIM session, and then add your CIM session removal line below it.

```powershell
$remoteComputer = 'REMOTECOMPUTER'
$cimSession = New-CimSession -ComputerName $remoteComputer

$cimSession | Remove-CimSession
```

Once you’ve built out the CIM session code, insert the WMI query.

```powershell
$remoteComputer = 'REMOTECOMPUTER'
$cimSession = New-CimSession -ComputerName $remoteComputer

Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration

$cimSession | Remove-CimSession
```

![Querying WMI with a CIM session to get network adapter information](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Untitled-2021-03-03T103015.585-3.png)

Querying WMI with a CIM session to get network adapter information

You can see that the default output above doesn’t show the IP address. You’ll have to dig in a bit deeper. It also doesn’t return a single instance. How do you narrow down the one that has the IP address you’re looking for?

To do that, first display all of the properties using `Select-Object`.

```powershell
Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration | Select-Object -Property *
```

Scroll through the output, and you’ll notice some network adapters without an IP address, some with one, and some with multiple IPs! You must limit that down. You must find some standard criterion to filter on so that it can apply to all servers.

![Lots of output from The Win32\_NetworkAdapterConfiguration class!](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Untitled-2021-03-03T103209.309.png)

Lots of output from The Win32\_NetworkAdapterConfiguration class!

On each adapter, you should see the `IPEnabled` property. When this property is set to _True_, the TCP/IP protocol is bound to this NIC, which is a prerequisite to having an IP address. You must narrow down the NICs that have the `IPEnabled` property set to _True,_ and you’ll have the adapter you’re looking for.

When filtering WMI instances, it’s best to use the `Filter` parameter on `Get-CimInstance`. There’s a motto in the PowerShell community that says “filter left.” If you have the chance, this saying means always filter output as far to the left as possible.

_Don’t use [`Where-Object`](https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-where-object/) unless you have to. The performance will be much faster instead due to the lack of overhead of processing unnecessary objects across the pipeline._

Related:[How to Use Where-Object to Filter all the Things](https://adamtheautomator.com/powershell-where-object/)

The `Filter` parameter on `Get-CimInstance` uses [_Windows Query Language (WQL)_](http://bit.ly/2ywE9uh). WQL is a small subset of SQL. The `Filter` parameter expects the same constraint _WHERE_ clause syntax as SQL would.

To find all of the CIM instances of the Win32\_NetworkAdapterConfiguration class with the IPEnabled property set to True, use the `SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WHERE IPEnabled = 'True'` WQL query.

Since we’re already specifying the class name for the `ClassName` parameter argument in `Get-CimInstance`, we need to specify `IPEnabled = 'True'` for the `Filter`. This will return only the network adapter with the IP address.

```powershell
Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter "IPEnabled = 'True'" | Select-Object -Property *
```

When you run the above code snippet, you should see that `Get-CimInstance` returns only a single (or limited set) of instances.

Now that you have a single CIM instance and know the property you’re looking for (`IPAddress`), let’s see what it looks like. You’ll see below that, in this instance, it returns a single CIM instance but with three strings for the `IPAddress` property, including IPV6 addresses.

```powershell
(Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter "IPEnabled = 'True'").IPAddress

192.168.0.40
fe80::e4e1:c511:e38b:4f05
2607:fcc8:acd9:1f00:e4e1:c511:e38b:4f05
```

You’re going to have to filter some more elements out. Because WQL can’t filter deeper than the `IPAddress` property value, you must now parse out the IPv4 address.

The IPV4 address is typically the first one defined in the array. Pick out that one using by referencing the 0 index as shown below. When you do, you’ll see that it returns only a single IPV4 IP address string.

```powershell
(Get-CimInstance -CimSession $cimSession -ClassName Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration -Filter "IPEnabled = 'True'").IPAddress[0]

192.168.0.40
```

> _The IPV4 address may not always be the first array element. In fact, the IPAddress property may not even be an array. IP configurations vary drastically over adapters and various configurations. You may have to get creative in filtering them._

## Conclusion

If you need to use PowerShell to get an IP address from a computer, look at the `Get-NetIPAddress` cmdlet first. If you’re building a larger script or cannot run this command for some reason, look into using `Get-CimInstance` and CIM session to do the dirty work.

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