hostctl

Manage /etc/hosts entries from the command line. Add, remove, enable, disable, and look up host entries with ease.

Install

pip install hostctl-cli

Usage

# List all entries
hostctl list
hostctl list --all          # Include disabled

# Look up a hostname
hostctl lookup myapp.local

# Add an entry (requires sudo for /etc/hosts)
sudo hostctl add 127.0.0.1 myapp.local api.local -c "dev environment"

# Remove entries
sudo hostctl remove myapp.local

# Disable (comment out) without removing
sudo hostctl disable myapp.local

# Re-enable
sudo hostctl enable myapp.local

# Use a custom hosts file
hostctl -f ./hosts.test list

# JSON output
hostctl --json list

For AI Agents

See SKILL.md for agent-optimized documentation.

Features

• List, add, remove, enable, disable host entries
• Look up hostnames
• JSON output (--json) for automation
• Custom hosts file support (-f)
• Dry-run mode for add/remove
• Automatic backup before writes
• Preserves comments and formatting

License

MIT