Find out your own IP address from the Terminal window in Mac OS X

Syntax: curl [-Options] whatismyip.org

usage: One way to check your own IP adress is to use the command called ifconfig. But if you're behind a switch/router you will probably only get your local IP address when using ifconfig.

To find out your actual IP address (which everyone outside your own network sees) you can use a function called cURL.

cURL is an inbuilt tool in Mac OS X which lets you transfer data from or to a server.
Learn more about how to use cURL in the Terminal on a Mac.

Example

curl whatismyip.org

Outputs your IP address directly in the Terminal window