What's the best way to confirm that your /etc/hosts file is mapping a hostname to the correct IP address?
Using a tool like dig queries an external DNS directly, bypassing the hosts file.
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hosts files do not map domains....them map specific hostnames to IP addresses.– mdpcCommented Jun 2, 2014 at 18:10
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@mdpc I edited it to reflect that. Basically the same question though, I was just looking for a way to verify the hosts file entry is working.– JayCommented Jun 2, 2014 at 18:17
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3 Answers
I tried this out and it seems to work as expected:
echo "1.2.3.4 facebook.com" >> /etc/hosts
Then I ran:
$ getent ahosts facebook.com
1.2.3.4 STREAM facebook.com
1.2.3.4 DGRAM
1.2.3.4 RA
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1looks good, thanks! I also found that ping works:
ping facebook.comoutputs:PING facebook.com (1.2.3.4) 56(84) bytes of data.– JayCommented Jun 2, 2014 at 20:19
I found gethostip which accepts either hostname or IP and also has options suitable to print out exactly what you need.
$ gethostip -d facebook
1.2.3.4
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On Debian
gethostipis not installed by default. Usesudo apt install syslinux-utils. Commented May 13, 2021 at 9:25
You can use the 'ping' command to check the values added in /etc/hosts are working fine or not.
echo "1.1.1.1 abc.com" >> /etc/hosts
ping abc.com
