Report macOS system hardware and software configuration
Archived: 2026-04-05 18:50:40 UTC
SS64
macOS
How-to
system_profiler
Report system hardware and software configuration.
Syntax
 Report of everything (full):
 system_profiler
 Report of everything with less detail:
 system_profiler [-xml] [-detailLevel level]
 Report for one (or several) Data Types:
 system_profiler [-xml] dataType1 ... dataTypeN
 List the Data Types:
 system_profiler [-listDataTypes]
 Print help:
 system_profiler [-usage]
Key:
 -xml Generate a report in XML format. If the XML report
 is redirected to a file with a ".spx" suffix that
 file can be opened with System Profiler.app.
 -listDataTypes List the available datatypes.
 SPHardwareDataType Hardware data, machine model, name serial number.
 SPSoftwareDataType Software data, macOS versionNo.
 SPPowerDataType Power and battery data, AC wattage, battery cycle count
 -detailLevel level The level of detail for the report:
 mini report with no personal information
 basic basic hardware and network information
https://ss64.com/osx/system_profiler.html
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full all available information
 -usage Print usage info and examples.
system_profiler is a replacement for /usr/sbin/AppleSystemProfiler.
Examples
Generate a text report with the standard detail level:
$ system_profiler
Generate a report of all 32 bit software and save to a text file on the desktop:
$ system_profiler SPApplicationsDataType | grep -B 6 -A 2 "(Intel): No" > ~/Desktop/non64bit.txt
Generate a short report containing no personal information:
$ system_profiler -detailLevel mini
Show a list of the available data types:
$ system_profiler -listDataTypes
Generate a text report containing only software and network data:
$ system_profiler SPSoftwareDataType SPNetworkDataType
Create an XML file which can be opened by System Profiler.app:
$ system_profiler -xml > MyReport.spx
“Why a four-year-old child could understand this report...
Run out and find me a four-year-old child. I can’t make head nor tail out of it” ~ Groucho Marx
Related macOS commands
Local man page: system_profiler - Command line help page on your local machine.
serverinfo - Server information.
uname - Print the Darwin OS Kernel version / release / machine name.
sw_vers - Print macOS Operating System version.
who - Print who is currently logged in.
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https://ss64.com/osx/system_profiler.html
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Source: https://ss64.com/osx/system_profiler.html
https://ss64.com/osx/system_profiler.html
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