hostess ☆
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Description:
Idempotent command-line utility for managing your /etc/hosts file
Type: Formula  |  Latest Version: 0.5.2@0  |  Tracked Since: Oct 10, 2025
Links: Homepage  |  formulae.brew.sh
Category: System utilities
Tags: hosts networking development cli devops
Install: brew install hostess
About:
Hostess is a command-line utility that provides an idempotent way to manage the /etc/hosts file. It allows users to add, remove, and modify hostname-to-IP mappings without manual editing, ensuring consistent state. The tool helps prevent common errors and simplifies the management of local development domains and network overrides.
Key Features:
  • Idempotent operations for safe, repeatable changes
  • Simple commands to add, delete, and toggle entries
  • Prevents duplicate or conflicting host entries
  • Zero-dependency binary for easy installation
Use Cases:
  • Managing local development environments for multiple web projects
  • Blocking malicious domains or ad servers system-wide
  • Quickly switching between production and local API endpoints
Alternatives:
  • vim /etc/hosts – Manual editing is error-prone and not idempotent
  • sed/awk scripts – Less robust and harder to maintain than a dedicated tool
Version History
Detected Version Rev Change Commit
Oct 10, 2025 2:05pm 0 VERSION_BUMP 4380ebb3
Sep 12, 2025 10:44am 0 VERSION_BUMP 738d8325
Oct 2, 2023 12:55pm 0 VERSION_BUMP 7f1a49f4
Nov 29, 2022 8:55am 0 VERSION_BUMP 0cdce20d
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