systemprofiler

System_profiler is a macOS command-line utility that gathers and presents detailed information about a computer’s hardware and software configuration. It collects data from system frameworks and IOKit to produce a hierarchical report that can include hardware, software, network, and peripheral details. The output is used for diagnostics, support, and inventory management.

Usage: system_profiler accepts one or more data type identifiers and optional flags. A full report can be generated by running the tool with no data types or by listing specific data types such as SPHardwareDataType or SPSoftwareDataType. The -detailLevel option controls verbosity with values mini, basic, and full. The -xml option outputs the report as an XML property list suitable for parsing by scripts. Example: system_profiler SPHardwareDataType SPSoftwareDataType -detailLevel mini -xml > report.xml

Typical information includes model identifier, serial number, processor model and speed, number of cores, memory size, boot volume, PCI and USB devices, network interfaces, firmware, and installed software with versions. Additional data types cover storage, Bluetooth, Thunderbolt, and kernel extensions. The tool can be invoked remotely in some configurations or used for local system auditing.

Limitations and notes: Some data may require administrator privileges or user consent, and privacy controls can affect collection on recent macOS versions. The data is intended for troubleshooting and inventory and should be treated as potentially sensitive. The official manual provides further detail on available data types and formatting.