Local IP Address

Your local IP is the IPv4 address assigned to your device on its current network, typically by a router via DHCP, and used to route traffic between you and other devices on the same LAN. Routers hand out addresses from one of the private ranges defined in RFC 1918 (10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, or 192.168.0.0/16), which is why what is my local IP rarely matches the address the public internet sees.

This Local IP tool detects your address via a stub WebRTC RTCPeerConnection, gathering ICE candidates and extracting the IPv4 string from the first candidate the browser produces. The lookup runs entirely in your browser. Network administrators and developers use a local IP tool to share an address with a teammate on the same Wi-Fi or to confirm which subnet a machine is on after a VPN handshake.

Why use Local IP?

• Share a local dev server in seconds. Grab the address and send http://192.168.1.42:3000 to a teammate on the same network.
• Confirm the active interface after a VPN. The detected IP tells you whether traffic now routes through the tunnel.
• Debug printer or NAS connectivity. Compare your local IP and the device’s IP to confirm they share a subnet.

How to use the Local IP tool

1. Click Detect Local IP.
2. Wait while the browser opens a stub WebRTC connection. Detection usually takes under a second.
3. Read the address in the result card and click the copy icon to copy it.
4. If a browser, extension, or VPN blocks WebRTC, the tool reports an error after a 3-second timeout.

Why your local IP differs from public IP

Most networks use Network Address Translation (NAT) defined in RFC 3022. The router holds one routable public IP from your ISP; every device behind it gets a private IP from an RFC 1918 range. The router rewrites the source address on outbound packets so the internet only sees the public IP.

WebRTC ICE candidate explanation

WebRTC gathers ICE candidates (RFC 8445) so each peer can advertise its network addresses. Even a peer connection with zero ICE servers enumerates local host candidates, which include the device’s IPv4 in the candidate:... SDP line.

const pc = new RTCPeerConnection({ iceServers: [] });
pc.createDataChannel("");
pc.createOffer().then(o => pc.setLocalDescription(o));
pc.onicecandidate = (e) => {
  const m = e.candidate && /([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}/.exec(e.candidate.candidate);
  if (m) console.log("local IP:", m[0]);
};

Browsers may return *.local mDNS hostnames instead of raw IPs to limit fingerprinting.

Common use cases

• Frontend developers sharing a dev server. Hand off the URL with the local IP and port for live review.
• DevOps engineers verifying VPN routing. Confirm the tunnel changed your network identity.
• QA engineers testing across devices on a LAN. Point a phone at the laptop’s local IP to test a build without deploying.

Frequently asked questions

What is my local IP?

The address your router assigned to your device on the current network, almost always in the 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or 172.16–31.x.x range. The tool reads it from a WebRTC ICE candidate in your browser.

Why does my local IP start with 192.168?

192.168.0.0/16 is one of three private IPv4 ranges reserved by RFC 1918. Most consumer routers default to it.

Is my local IP shared with this website?

No. The WebRTC code creates a stub peer connection, reads the local candidate, and discards the rest. No request carrying the address leaves your machine.

Why does the tool show only a .local hostname?

Chrome and Safari return mDNS hostnames like abcd1234.local instead of raw IPv4 for privacy. Run the page on localhost or disable the browser’s WebRTC protection to see the numeric address.

How is local IP different from public IP?

Local IP identifies your device on the LAN behind your router. Public IP identifies your router on the open internet. The two are linked only by NAT.

Does this tool work offline?

Yes. The WebRTC stack gathers host candidates without internet. With no adapter the result is 127.0.0.1.

Related tools

• HAR Viewer: Open and inspect HTTP Archive files captured from DevTools.
• User-Agent Parser: Decode any user agent string into browser, OS, and engine.
• Browser Info: Show your current browser, OS, language, and hardware capabilities.
• Subnet Calculator: Calculate IPv4 subnets, masks, and host ranges from CIDR.