Airport - The nifty command line wireless utility for macOS
We live in a wireless world with WiFi hotspots in every corner. There are days I connect up to 3 new WiFi networks while I wait in lobbies for meetings. I wondered if I could use the terminal to connect to WiFi networks without needing to fiddle with the trackpad. It has the benefit of looking "Hacker Like" for a secretariat of two.
Prerequisites
- A macOS user account with
sudoaccess - macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur or newer
The airport utility is available in many macOS releases, but their exact location changes. I don't intend to blot this blog post with legacy.
Procedure
Step 1: The airport utility is hidden deep inside the operating system, far from the average Joe's sight. Let's bring it out by symlinking it to the /usr/local/bin.
sudo ln -s /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport /usr/local/bin/airport
Note: You will have to enter the password here.
Step 2: Now, you need to ensure that /usr/local/bin is in your PATH variable.
echo $PATH | grep /usr/local/bin
If it is not, you can add it to the PATH by editing either the ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc file. (.bashrc file is for the bash command line, which comes with macOS. If you changed it to zsh, you might use the ~/.zshrc). If you don't know what zsh is, checkout oh-my-zsh to better your terminal.
nvim ~/.bashrc
Add the following line at the end of the file:
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/bin
You may close the terminal and reopen it. Confirm that the airport command is at your disposal by running.
airport --help
Supported arguments:
-c[<arg>] --channel=[<arg>] Set arbitrary channel on the card
-z --disassociate Disassociate from any network
-I --getinfo Print current wireless status, e.g. signal info, BSSID, port type etc.
-s[<arg>] --scan=[<arg>] Perform a wireless broadcast scan.
Will perform a directed scan if the optional <arg> is provided
-x --xml Print info as XML
-P --psk Create PSK from specified pass phrase and SSID.
The following additional arguments must be specified with this command:
--password=<arg> Specify a WPA password
--ssid=<arg> Specify SSID when creating a PSK
-h --help Show this help
Now you have a very fantastic tool at your disposal. Let's look at some common usages.
Common Usage
Example 1: Use airport -s to display all available wireless networks:
jdeen@iMac:~|⇒ airport -s
SSID BSSID RSSI CHANNEL HT CC SECURITY (auth/unicast/group)
Dialog 4G 00:e0:4c:11:8d:00 -91 10 Y -- WPA(PSK/TKIP,AES/TKIP) WPA2(PSK/TKIP,AES/TKIP)
SUSIRI 9c:74:1a:8e:3f:f0 -90 5 Y LK WPA(PSK/AES,TKIP/TKIP) WPA2(PSK/AES,TKIP/TKIP)
ZiyanJunaideen 8c:e1:17:a0:84:4a -44 5 Y #a WPA(PSK/AES/AES) WPA2(PSK/AES/AES)
Example 2: Use airport -I to get information about the current WiFi connection:
jdeen@iMac:~|⇒ airport -I
agrCtlRSSI: -46
agrExtRSSI: 0
agrCtlNoise: -93
agrExtNoise: 0
state: running
op mode: station
lastTxRate: 130
maxRate: 144
lastAssocStatus: 0
802.11 auth: open
link auth: wpa2-psk
BSSID: 8c:e1:17:a0:84:4a
SSID: ZiyanJunaideen
MCS: 0
channel: 8
Extra: One common use of this tool for me is to use with networksetup which allows me to connect to a WiFi network with the command:
networksetup -setairportnetwork en0 <NETWORK_SSID> <NETWORK_PASSWORD>
Conclusion
I was happy to find airport and confused that it was hidden far from sight. An airport command is a useful tool especially for those who extensively use the terminal. Still, if you are not and would look "sophisticated" or like a "hacker" you can add it to your set of tools.
About the Author
Ziyan Junaideen -
Ziyan is an expert Ruby on Rails web developer with 8 years of experience specializing in SaaS applications. He spends his free time he writes blogs, drawing on his iPad, shoots photos.