Check Battery Health and Cycle Count from the Terminal
pmset -g batt shows charge state; system_profiler SPPowerDataType adds condition and cycle count.
01Command
$ pmset -g batt && system_profiler SPPowerDataType | grep -E "Cycle Count|Condition|Full Charge Capacity"02What it does
pmset -g batt answers 'how charged is it and on which power source', including whether the battery is discharging or finishing a charge. The system_profiler query adds the health details Apple uses: Condition should read Normal (Service Recommended means degraded), and Cycle Count matters because lithium batteries are rated for about 1000 cycles on modern MacBooks. Watching Full Charge Capacity shrink over the years is a more honest health signal than percentage alone.
03Risk
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- pmset — power management settings (macOS man page)Evidence: Documents -g batt, which prints charge percentage and power source.
- system_profiler — hardware reports (macOS man page)Evidence: SPPowerDataType exposes cycle count, condition, and full-charge capacity of the battery.
Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: System & Settings
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