Command line tool for modifying hosts file on Linux/UNIX to change static hostname-IP mappings.
Intended to be run with the suid bit set, so unprivileged users may update the hosts file. This allow easy integration for jobs like updating entries after launching a docker container or locally testing virtual hosts vor web projects without any requirement for privilege escalation.
The tool has been engineered for safety and features a configurable list of hostnames for which entries may be modified. No other modifications are allowed.
Also, some key entries that might affect correct function of software like localhost are
checked before writing the new configuration.
The new configuration is written to the file system under a different name next to the original file and only moved into place as the last step. This makes the change atomic (according to POSIX semantics) and any error occurring earlier leaves the existing configuration intact. After an unsuccessful run, if the new placeholder file is already present, manual intervention will be necessary.
Run with --sample-config to generate a sample YAML config which can be placed at /etc/hostsmod.yaml. Take care to
make this file only modifiable (or even accessible) to the root user if arbitrary modifications should be prohibited.
The executable then has to be granted the suid bit, which can be done by sudo chmod u+s <path-to-hostsmod> and has to
be owned by the root user.
Run with --help to get an extensive description of what the software does and how it is controlled.
Remove entry so the deployed instance can be accessed (observe -- to differentiate from flags):
hostsmod -- -prod.project.tldAdd entries so a local dev environment can be tested using real-world hostnames:
hostsmod -- 127.0.0.1=prod.project.tld ::1+=prod.project.tld 127.0.0.1=assets.project.tldAdd entry for random IP of temporary dev system:
hostsmod "$(docker inspect --format '{{ .NetworkSettings.Networks.svc.IPAddress }}' localdb)=database"