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Modifying the Hosts file in Mac OS X
Frequently asked, here is my mini tutorial on it.
How do I change the 'hosts' file under macOS (from 10.5 Leopard to 15.3.1 Sequoia) to link an internal IP address with a DNS name?
There is a file called 'hosts' in the '/etc/' directory. This file has to be accessed with administrator rights. This is done in the 'Terminal' application using the 'sudo' command.
The "nano" text editor is used here. You can also use the "vi" or "vim" editor (sudo vi /etc/hosts).
After the password prompt, the contents of the "hosts" file will appear:
You can now add your own entries. Example:
Save the file (in nano: Ctrl->X and then enter Y to save) and then execute the command:
This command will update the existing DNS cache.
You can now 'ping' to test the internal name resolution.
That's it
Greetings Frank
How do I change the 'hosts' file under macOS (from 10.5 Leopard to 15.3.1 Sequoia) to link an internal IP address with a DNS name?
There is a file called 'hosts' in the '/etc/' directory. This file has to be accessed with administrator rights. This is done in the 'Terminal' application using the 'sudo' command.
sudo nano /etc/hostsThe "nano" text editor is used here. You can also use the "vi" or "vim" editor (sudo vi /etc/hosts).
After the password prompt, the contents of the "hosts" file will appear:
##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhostYou can now add your own entries. Example:
##
# Host Database
#
# localhost is used to configure the loopback interface
# when the system is booting. Do not change this entry.
##
127.0.0.1 localhost
255.255.255.255 broadcasthost
::1 localhost
192.168.0.1 www.mydomain.com
192.168.0.2 mymacSave the file (in nano: Ctrl->X and then enter Y to save) and then execute the command:
dscacheutil -flushcacheYou can now 'ping' to test the internal name resolution.
# ping mymac
PING mymac (192.168.0.2): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.0.2: icmp_seq=0 ttl=64 time=0.155 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.2: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.166 msThat's it
Greetings Frank
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Content-ID: 671379
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Printed on: March 14, 2025 at 07:03 o'clock