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Routing Table

The Routing Table viewer displays your Mac's IPv4 routing information and network service order. This advanced tool helps you understand how traffic is routed and troubleshoot connectivity issues.

Routing Table Window

Opening Routing Table

Access Routing Table in three ways:

  1. Toolbar Button - Click the Routing Table button in the toolbar
  2. Menu Bar - Select Tools → Routing Table
  3. Keyboard Shortcut - Press ⌘Y

Routing Table View

The window is divided into two sections:

  1. IPv4 Routes - Active routing entries
  2. Network Service Order - macOS network priority configuration

Refreshing the Table

Click the Refresh button to reload current routing information.

Refresh Button

When to Refresh: - After connecting/disconnecting VPN - After network configuration changes - When troubleshooting routing issues - After interface changes

IPv4 Routes

The main table displays all IPv4 routing entries with comprehensive information

Active Status

Symbol: ✓ (checkmark) or ✗ (X)

Meaning: - ✓ = Active route, currently in use - ✗ = Inactive route, not currently used

Note: Inactive routes may exist from previous configurations or interfaces

Network Address

The destination network or host for this route.

Formats:

Default Route: - 0.0.0.0 or default - Catches all traffic not matching other routes - Your internet gateway

Specific Network: - 192.168.1.0 (network address) - Shows destination subnet

Specific Host: - 192.168.1.1 (single IP) - Route for one specific device

Special Networks: - 127.0.0.0 (loopback) - 224.0.0.0 (multicast) - 169.254.0.0 (link-local)

DNS Name Resolution: - For public IPs, PingStalker attempts reverse DNS lookup - Shows hostname if available - Examples: "Google DNS", "Cloudflare", "server.example.com"

Network Type Indicators

Private Network: - Tagged if destination is RFC 1918 private address - 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16

DNS Name: - If reverse DNS successful, marked as resolved

Host Route: - /32 subnet mask (single host) - Specific device routing entry

Subnet Mask

The subnet mask for the destination network.

Examples: - 255.255.255.255 (/32) - Single host - 255.255.255.0 (/24) - Standard subnet - 0.0.0.0 (/0) - Default route (all destinations)

CIDR

The subnet mask in CIDR notation.

Examples: - /32 - Single host - /24 - 254 hosts - /16 - 65,534 hosts - /0 - All destinations (default route)

See: Subnet Calculator for CIDR explanations

Gateway

The next-hop IP address for traffic to this destination.

Types:

Router IP: - Example: 192.168.1.1 - Traffic forwarded to this gateway

Link (Direct): - Traffic sent directly to destination - No intermediate gateway needed - Common for local subnet

Interface Name: - Sometimes shows interface (en0, en1) instead of IP - Direct connection via that interface

Default Gateway: - The gateway for the default route (0.0.0.0/0) - Your router's IP address - All internet traffic goes here

Interface Name

The system interface name used for this route.

Examples: - en0, en1, en2 (Ethernet/Wi-Fi) - utun0, utun1 (VPN tunnels) - awdl0 (Apple Wireless Direct Link) - lo0 (loopback) - bridge0 (network bridge)

Format: System identifier (not display name)

Interface Display Name

The friendly name of the interface.

Examples: - Wi-Fi - Ethernet - USB 10/100/1000 LAN - VPN (IKEv2) - Thunderbolt Bridge

Source: Maps interface name to user-friendly name

Blank: For some special/virtual interfaces

Flags

Routing entry flags indicating route properties.

Common Flags:

B - Blackhole - Traffic to this destination is dropped - Security or administrative purposes - Never forwarded

b - Broadcast - Broadcast address route - For sending to all hosts on network

D - Dynamic - Route added dynamically (e.g., by routing protocol) - Not manually configured

G - Gateway - Route uses a gateway (next-hop router) - Most internet routes have this flag

m - Multicast - Multicast route - For group communication

R - Unreachable - Destination currently unreachable - Error route

S - Static - Manually configured route - Administrative route

Icons: - Flags displayed as icons with tooltips - Hover to see flag meaning

Default Route Identification

The default route (0.0.0.0/0) is specially marked:

Star Icon (★): Indicates the primary default route

Significance: This is your internet gateway—all traffic to the internet goes through this route

Multiple Default Routes: - When multiple default routes exist (e.g., VPN + regular internet) - macOS uses service order to determine priority - See Network Service Order below

Network Service Order

The bottom section shows macOS's network service priority:

Order Number

The priority ranking (1 = highest priority).

Significance: - When multiple interfaces can route traffic, the one with lower number wins - Affects default route selection - Determines which DNS servers are used first

Enabled Status

✓ = Service is enabled and active ✗ = Service is disabled

Hardware Port

The physical or virtual port name.

Examples: - Wi-Fi - Ethernet - Thunderbolt Ethernet - iPhone USB - VPN (IKEv2)

Device Name

The interface identifier.

Examples: - en0, en1 (Ethernet/Wi-Fi) - en2, en3 (USB adapters) - utun0 (VPN)

The Routing Table viewer provides deep insight into how your Mac routes network traffic. Use it to troubleshoot connectivity issues, verify VPN configurations, and understand complex multi-interface setups.