How to Modify Hosts File

MacOS® and Linux®

To modify your /etc/hosts file if your workstation runs MacOS or a Linux distribution, perform the following steps:

1. On your workstation, open the /etc/hosts file with your preferred text editor.

2. Add the server's IP address and domain name under the last entry in the file, for example:

   1 2 3 4

   127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4 ::1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6 192.168.0.20    example.com 1.2.3.4 username.example.com

   Note:

   In this example, 1.2.3.4 represents the server's IP address, and username.example.com represents the domain name.

3. Save your changes.

4. Reload your browser for the changes to take effect.

Microsoft Windows

To modify the /etc/hosts file on a Windows workstation, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Start menu.
   1. If you run Windows 8 or Windows 10, type Win+X on the keyboard or click the Windows icon in the lower-left corner of your desktop interface.
   2. If you run Windows 7 or Windows Vista®, click Start.
2. Enter Notepad in the search text box.
3. Right-click Notepad and select Run as Administrator.

4. In Notepad, open the following file:

   C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts

5. Add the destination server's IP address and domain name under the latest entry in the file, for example:

   1 2 3 4

   127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4 ::1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6 192.168.0.20 example.com 1.2.3.4 username.example.com

   Note:

   In this example, 1.2.3.4 represents the destination server's IP address, and username.example.com represents the domain name.

6. Save your changes.
7. Reload your browser for the changes to take effect.