How to Edit the Hosts File to Point a Domain to an IP Address
The hosts file is a system file that allows you to manually map domain names to IP addresses. By modifying this file, you can force your computer to resolve a domain to a specific IP, bypassing the public DNS resolution.
This is especially useful when you want to test a website on a new server before updating DNS records, or during a migration process.
Location of the hosts file
The location of the hosts file depends on your operating system:
- Windows:
C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts - Linux:
/etc/hosts - macOS:
/private/etc/hosts
Example line to add
Let’s say you want domain.com to resolve to the IP address 1.2.3.4. Open the hosts file with administrative privileges and add the following line at the end:
1.2.3.4 domain.com www.domain.com
This tells your computer to resolve domain.com using the specified IP address.
Once saved, you may need to clear your browser cache to see the changes reflecte
