Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsRun curl checkip.me to see the public IP address CheckIP.me observes for your connection. For structured details—including network, approximate location, VPN or proxy indicators, and a documented risk score—use curl checkip.me/json. These results are useful clues, not proof of who is using an address or whether a connection is safe.
Get the public IP address your request presents
Open a terminal and run:
curl checkip.meThe service returns the IP address it observes for the request. This is the public-facing address seen by that remote service, which may differ from an address assigned to your device on a local network. If you are connected through a VPN or proxy, the request may show the address used by that service rather than your usual public address.
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CheckIP.me documents Linux, macOS, and Windows 10/11 as supported environments. On Windows PowerShell, use curl.exe: curl may resolve to PowerShell’s Invoke-WebRequest alias instead.
Choose an endpoint for the information you need
| Need | Command | What it returns |
|---|---|---|
| Current request’s public IP, as plain text | curl checkip.me |
The IP address observed by the service. |
| Details about the current request’s IP | curl checkip.me/json |
A JSON response with available network, location, and detection fields. |
| One property only | curl checkip.me/vpn |
The requested field as plain text. |
| Details for a specified IP | Use the arbitrary-IP endpoint described in the official API documentation. | Information for the supplied address; a private or reserved address can produce HTTP 422. |
The service documents GET endpoints and command-line use over HTTP or HTTPS. Use plain text when a script needs only the address, JSON when it needs several properties, and a field endpoint when it needs just one value. The precise arbitrary-IP URL pattern is documented by CheckIP.me at checkip.me/api.
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Force IPv4 or IPv6 when you want to test a specific path
curl normally uses the address family available through its connection and name resolution. To request one family explicitly, add -4 for IPv4 or -6 for IPv6:
curl -4 checkip.me
curl -6 checkip.meIf one command fails while the other works, the result can help identify which address family is reachable from that environment. A failed request does not by itself explain why the path is unavailable.
Rank #2
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- Supported features include Wake-on-LAN function, Green Ethernet & IEEE 802.3az-2010 (Energy Efficient Ethernet)
- Supports IPv4/IPv6 pack Checksum Offload Engine (COE) to reduce Cental Processing Unit (CPU) loading
- Compatible with Windows 8.1 or higher, Mac OS
Read the JSON response without over-interpreting it
The documented response can include the IP, ASN, ISP, organization, network type and range, approximate location, coordinates, timezone, currency, VPN/proxy/Tor indicators, hosting and other indicators, a risk value, and possibly an operator value. Unknown values may be null; a missing or null field is not evidence that a condition is absent.
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Network owner and location fields
ASN, ISP, organization, network type, and range describe information associated with the address in the service’s data sources. Geolocation is approximate, not a precise device location. A VPN lookup generally reflects the VPN server’s location; with carrier-grade NAT, a location associated with the carrier gateway may appear instead.
Rank #3
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VPN, proxy, and Tor indicators
These fields are detection signals, not a complete account of the connection path. A positive flag does not establish exactly which service or user is behind an address, and a negative flag does not prove that no VPN, proxy, or Tor routing is involved. CheckIP.me’s operator warns that these flags should not be used for security-critical decisions.
Risk score
The official documentation describes risk as a score from 0 to 100, with higher values characterized as riskier. The sources do not establish an independently validated accuracy rate or a probability interpretation for the score, so do not treat a particular number as a calibrated likelihood or a verdict about a person or request.
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Account for caching and lookup limits
As documented by CheckIP.me and accessed October 7, 2026, lookups for other IP addresses are limited to 120 per hour per visitor. The documentation also says recently looked-up addresses may be served from cache, with cached results up to 30 days old. A response about a supplied IP may therefore not reflect its current state.
There is a conflicting figure in David Williams’s DEV Community article, which says 60 third-party lookups per hour. The official API documentation’s 120-per-hour figure is the service’s documented limit referenced here; check the current documentation if your use depends on a precise quota, since service limits can change.
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Handle errors in scripts
- HTTP 429: The request exceeded the rate limit. Check the response’s
Retry-Afterheader before trying again. - HTTP 422: The supplied IP is private or reserved and cannot be handled as a public-address lookup.
- HTTP 502: The service’s data source did not respond. Treat the lookup as unavailable rather than interpreting it as a clean result.
When automating requests, account for non-success responses and null fields instead of assuming every request returns complete JSON. Avoid using a service response as the sole control for access, fraud decisions, or other security-sensitive actions.
Quick Recap
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