Change host file on Mac - 5 simple steps

How to change the host file on the Mac

1. Open the Terminal tool (Applications / Utilities / Terminal).
2. Enter the command "sudo nano /etc/hosts" (without inverted commas).
3. Enter your password from the Mac user (no characters are displayed).
4. Make your desired changes.
5. Press Ctrl+X, then Y and ENTER.

If the change does not work, restart your Mac or enter the command "sudo /usr/bin/dscacheutil -flushcache".

What happens if you change the host file? (Explained in an example)

I'll show you in an easy-to-understand example. Follow the instructions above and make the following entry in your host file:

185.56.87.133 www.orf.at (one space in between)

Your host file should then look like this:

Now save this file (see step 5 above).

Now open your browser and enter www.orf.at. You should now see a certificate error and then be redirected to our website www.ithelps-digital.com.

To undo this, simply delete the set entry from the host file.

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In which situation you should change the host file

We change the host file very often. For example, whenever we change the host of a website and want to transfer the website. This allows us to transfer the website to the new host in advance without any downtime for the public or the customer.

Change host file when changing host

You want to switch from website host A to website host B. Your website can be accessed with www.deineseite.at and points to host A. If you were to carry out the switch immediately, www.deineseite.at would point to host B. However, your website is not yet there and your browser would display an error. You would then be under stress as you have to transfer the website "quickly".

The alternative is as follows:
I activate the hosting package with hoster B, but leave the domain www.deineseite.at still pointing to hoster A. I now receive an IP address for the new server from host B. I enter this IP address in my host file. This would then look like this:

Every time I now enter www.deineseite.at, I am referred to host B. I can then transfer and test my website at my leisure. If everything is OK, I can point the domain from host A to host B.

I would recommend that you clean up the host file afterwards, i.e. delete the set entry.