How to Run a Traceroute using the macOS Terminal

When you try to access a website and it fails to load, the problem might not be with your Mac or your local Wi-Fi router. The internet is a vast web of interconnected routers; your data must “hop” from one server to another to reach its destination. If any router along that path is down or experiencing heavy congestion, your connection will fail.

To diagnose exactly where the connection is breaking down, network engineers use a tool called a traceroute. A traceroute maps the exact path your data packets take across the internet, recording the time it takes to reach every single router (hop) along the way.

While older versions of macOS included a graphical Network Utility app, Apple removed it in newer updates. However, the underlying command-line tool is still fully functional. In this guide, you will learn how to run a traceroute directly from the macOS Terminal.

Step 1: Open the macOS Terminal

Because the graphical Network Utility is gone, you must use the command line.

1. Press Command + Space to open Spotlight Search.
2. Type Terminal and press Enter.
3. A small window with a white or black background and a blinking cursor will appear. This is where you will type your commands.

Step 2: Run the Traceroute Command

The syntax for the command is incredibly simple. You only need the command name followed by the domain name or IP address you want to test.

1. In the Terminal window, type the following command:

   traceroute digitash.com

   (You can replace digitash.com with any website URL or IP address, such as 8.8.8.8).

2. Press the Return key on your keyboard to execute the command.

Step 3: How to Read the Traceroute Output

Once you press Return, the Terminal will immediately begin printing lines of text. Each line represents one “hop” (a router) along the journey. A standard traceroute allows for a maximum of 30 hops.

Here is how to interpret a typical line of output:

 1  192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1)  2.134 ms  1.845 ms  1.701 ms

• The Hop Number (1): This is the first step in the journey. Hop 1 is almost always your local Wi-Fi router.
• The Router Name/IP (192.168.1.1): This identifies the specific machine handling your data.
• The Ping Times (2.134 ms…): The traceroute command sends three separate data packets to that specific router. The three numbers represent the time (in milliseconds) it took for the packet to travel to the router and back to your Mac. Lower numbers are better.

Diagnosing Network Problems

As you watch the traceroute progress down the list, you are looking for two specific warning signs:

1. Massive Time Spikes: If hops 1 through 5 show response times of 15 ms, but hop 6 suddenly jumps to 400 ms, you have found a severely congested or failing router. That specific node is slowing down your entire connection to the destination website.
2. Asterisks (* * *): If a line prints three asterisks instead of ping times, it means the request “timed out.” The data packet reached that router, but the router never replied.
   • Note: A single row of asterisks is often normal; many enterprise firewalls are configured to deliberately ignore traceroute requests for security reasons while still passing the data through to the next hop.
   • However, if you see asterisks starting at hop 8 and continuing indefinitely until the trace finishes, you have found the exact location where the connection is completely broken.

By running a traceroute from the macOS Terminal, you can definitively prove whether a loading issue is caused by your local network or a failing server hundreds of miles away.