The system_profiler command is a powerful utility on macOS for generating detailed reports about your system's hardware and software configuration. It allows users to gather comprehensive information that can be crucial for troubleshooting, inventory management, or simply understanding your Mac's specifications.

Generate Full System Report

To create a comprehensive report that can be opened with the graphical 'System Profiler.app', you can use the following command. This is particularly useful for creating a snapshot of your system for later analysis or sharing.

# Display a full system profiler report which can be opened by
# 'System Profiler.app'.
system_profiler -xml > MyReport.spx

View Hardware Overview

For a quick summary of your Mac's core hardware components, including the model, CPU, memory, and serial number, use the SPHardwareDataType. This provides essential information at a glance.

# Display an overview of system hardware (Model, CPU, Memory, Serial, etc).
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType

Extract Serial Number

If you specifically need to retrieve your Mac's serial number, you can combine system_profiler with grep and awk for a precise output. This is a common requirement for device registration or support.

# Print the system's serial number.
system_profiler SPHardwareDataType|grep "Serial Number (system)" |awk '{print $4}'

Understanding System Profiler Data Types

The system_profiler command supports various data types beyond SPHardwareDataType. You can explore other categories like SPSoftwareDataType for software information, SPStorageDataType for disk and storage details, and many more. Refer to the official macOS documentation for a complete list of available data types to tailor your reports precisely to your needs.

External Resources

• system_profiler Man Page - Official Apple documentation for the command.
• About System Information - Apple Support article explaining the graphical System Information app.
• System Profiler on Apple Stack Exchange - Community discussions and solutions.