Local network

Find the devices on your local network from a Mac

macOS has two built-in ways to see other devices: the ARP table and Bonjour. Neither one is a full scan of the network.

Applies to: All current macOS versions. Local Network privacy settings are in macOS 15 Sequoia and later.Checked: 29 October 2026

Symptoms

  • You need the IP address of a printer, NAS or other device.
  • You want to know which devices are on your network.
  • An app cannot find a device on the local network.

Likely causes

  • The ARP table holds only recent devices. The Mac lists a device only after it has exchanged traffic with it.
  • Bonjour shows only devices that advertise services. Devices that do not advertise a service do not appear.
  • Local Network access is off for an app. On macOS 15 Sequoia and later, an app needs permission to find devices on the local network.
  • Client isolation on the network. Some guest and public networks stop devices from seeing each other.

How to check

  1. Show the ARP table. It lists IP addresses and hardware (MAC) addresses that the Mac knows now.

    arp -a

  2. To skip name lookups, add -n.

    arp -a -n

  3. Browse for devices that advertise a service with Bonjour. This example finds printers. Press Control-C to stop.

    dns-sd -B _ipp._tcp

  4. Browse for devices that share files over SMB.

    dns-sd -B _smb._tcp

  5. If one app cannot find devices, open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network. Look for the app in the list.

How to fix it

  1. If the app is off in Local Network, turn it on. See An app cannot find devices on the local network.

  2. If you are on a guest network, connect to the main network to reach your devices.

  3. To add a device to the ARP table, ping its address first. Then run arp -a again.

    ping -c 2 192.168.1.20

  4. Give important devices a fixed address in your router settings. Then you can always find them.

With Kilobat

  1. Kilobat lists the devices that the Mac recently talked to, from the ARP neighbor cache. It is not a full scan.

    kilobat devices

  2. To include Bonjour services, add --bonjour.

    kilobat devices --bonjour

  3. To give a device a name that Kilobat remembers, use its hardware address.

    kilobat devices name aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff "Printer"

  4. To wake a device that supports Wake-on-LAN, send a wake packet. Kilobat cannot confirm that it woke.

    kilobat wake aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff

  5. The Devices tab in the dashboard needs Pro.

Questions

Why does arp -a not show all my devices?

The table lists only devices that recently exchanged traffic with the Mac. A device that is asleep or silent does not appear.

Do these commands need an administrator password?

No. arp -a and dns-sd -B work for any user. Deleting ARP entries needs an administrator.

Sources

Sources checked on 29 October 2026. Man pages are the ones installed with macOS; open one with man <name> in Terminal.