How to update your hosts file.

Every computer has a file on it which allows the owner to specify where a website is loaded from. A hosts file is a simple combination of domain names and IP addresses.

Adding a record to your hosts file means your computer will load the domain using the IP address specified, rather than the one provided by DNS.

111.222.333.444 www.domain.com
111.222.333.444 domain.com
111.222.333.555 subdomain.domain.com

• Windows
• Linux
• MacOS

Windows

• Press the Windows key
• Type Notepad
• From the results, right click on “Notepad” and choose “Run as administrator”
• From Notepad load the file C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts
• Enter the IP address, followed by a space or tab, and the domain
• Save the changes
• Exit Notepad

Linux

• Open a terminal window and enter sudo nano /etc/hosts.
• Enter your password if prompted
• Enter the IP address, followed by a space or tab, and the domain
• Ctrl+O to save
• Ctrl+X to close

MacOS X

• Open a terminal window and enter sudo nano /etc/hosts.
• Enter your password if prompted
• Enter the IP address, followed by a space or tab, and the domain
• Ctrl+O to save
• Ctrl+X to close