How to Check Which macOS Version You Have
macOS Sequoia and Tahoe; older versions noted where they differ · Last checked · Suggest an edit
https://instructions.wiki/mac/check-your-macos-version
An app says it needs a certain macOS version, a support page asks what you are running, or you want to know whether an update is due. The version number is two clicks away.
Open About This Mac
Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner of the screen and choose About This Mac. A small window opens showing the Mac's name, chip, memory, and serial number.
Read the version number
The line labeled macOS shows the name and version number, for example "macOS Sequoia 15.6". The first number is the major release, the second is the point update. Click More Info to open System Settings, General, About, which shows the same version and more hardware detail. On macOS Monterey and earlier, About This Mac opens with an Overview tab that lists the version in the same place.
Run sw_vers in Terminal
Open Terminal from Applications, Utilities and run:
sw_vers
It prints three lines: ProductName, ProductVersion, and BuildVersion. The build number is what support technicians and bug reports usually want, since two Macs on the same version can be on different builds.
Check for a newer version
Open System Settings, General, Software Update. After a short check, it shows whether an update is available for your Mac and lets you install it. If the Mac is already current, it says so here.
If you need to match a number to a name. macOS 26 is Tahoe, 15 is Sequoia, 14 is Sonoma, 13 is Ventura, 12 is Monterey, and 11 is Big Sur. Software listings often use either the name or the number, so it helps to know both.
If the Mac cannot install the latest version. Software Update only offers releases the hardware supports. A Mac that stops receiving major updates still gets security patches for its current version for a few more years.