Find macOS version using the Terminal

I like to use the Terminal for most of my work and to find macOS version is quite simple. I help most of my clients remotely and using the Terminal is usually fast and simple in my opinion. As usual, I need to brew a great cup of coffee at home before taking on any job.

Open your Terminal and run the sw_vers command. You should see the below output:

admin@some-mac ~ % sw_vers     
ProductName:	macOS
ProductVersion:	12.7.2
BuildVersion:	21G1974

There is another Terminal command system_profiler which can give you more details about your mac. For example, run:

system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType

admin@some-mac ~ % system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType
Software:
    System Software Overview:
      System Version: macOS 12.7.2 (21G1974)
      Kernel Version: Darwin 21.6.0
      Boot Volume: Macintosh HD
      Boot Mode: Normal
      Computer Name: some-mac
      User Name: Admin (admin)
      Secure Virtual Memory: Enabled
      System Integrity Protection: Enabled
      Time since boot: 6:03

The above will give you more details about your mac as you can see. There are also more details you can grab using your macos Terminal. Type:

system_profiler --help

The system_profiler command will give you all options including the -listDataTypes option. This will give you all possible ‘datatypes’ available. For example to learn more about your macOS hardware type:

system_profiler SPHardwareDataType

You should see an output:

Hardware:
    Hardware Overview:
      Model Name: iMac
      Model Identifier: iMac21,1
      Chip: Apple M1
      Total Number of Cores: 8 (4 performance and 4 efficiency)
      Memory: 16 GB
      System Firmware Version: 10151.61.4
      OS Loader Version: 7459.141.1.701.1
      Serial Number (system): H4TJL28XQ6X3
      Hardware UUID: 25A75F6A-6189-5341-B20D-BE420D1564FF
      Provisioning UDID: 00008103-000665441163401E
      Activation Lock Status: Disabled

Hope this brief tutorial helps somebody. Contact me if you have any questions or like to collaborate. Check out my cool T-Shirts and coffee mugs shop. I make my own designs. Currently, I’m working on new creations. I will let you know when they are available.