hostsed -- A tiny hosts file command line edit tool

hostsed is a simple python tool for editing hosts file(default /etc/hosts), you can add or delete a DNS entry via command line shell(e.x. bash). Editing hosts file with hostsed would be a more idemponent command line experience, i.e., add/del the same record won't result duplicated or missing entries in the hosts file. hostsed will check the validity ip address for both IPV4 and IPV6.

Install

You may install hostsed via pip. Python3 is preferred:

sudo pip3 install hostsed

Or on system default pip command:

sudo pip install hostsed

Usage

Display the hosts file content

sudo hostsed
# specify a location other than /etc/hosts
hostsed --file hosts.example

Add an entry

sudo hostsed add <ip address> <hostname1> <hostname2> ...

Example:

sudo hostsed add 192.168.1.1 gateway
sudo hostsed add 172.17.0.5 mongo-store-1 mysql-02
hostsed --file hosts.exmaple add 127.0.0.1 valarmorghulis.io

Delete an entry

rm/delete/remove are all alias for del:

sudo hostsed del <ip address> <hostname>

Example:

sudo hostsed remove 192.168.1.1 gateway
hostsed --file hosts.exmaple rm ::1 localhost

Drop lines with specified ip or hostname

sudo hostsed drop <ip or hostname>

Example:

sudo hostsed drop 192.168.1.1
sudo hostsed drop www.example.com
hostsed --file hosts.exmaple drop ::1

Get the ip address of a docker container

sudo hostsed docker <docker-container-name>

Acknowledgement

Thanks for @noahfx provide some awesome improve for hostsed.