Get CPU Info via Command Line in Mac OS X

Retrieving CPU information from the command line in Mac OS X is easy enough, first we’ll use sysctl because it give us everything on one easy to read line:

sysctl -n machdep.cpu.brand_string

Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E8600 @ 2.40GHz

This is advantageous because it reports back the chip model , if you don’t want the model number and simply want processor name, speed, and the number of processors, you can use grep with system_profiler:

system_profiler | grep Processor

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number of Processors: 1

There are probably other methods as well, but these two are detailed and give you the information you need. For the record, there is a much easier way to get this information, just go to “About This Mac” under the  Apple menu.