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Modify the Local Hosts File

Use your local hosts file to test domain-specific settings and DNS records.

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This section provides information on how to modify your local hosts file.

The hosts file exists on all major operating systems. The hosts file provides a list of IP addresses and domains that take precedence over DNS assigned values. You can modify your hosts file for the following purposes:

  • Test domain-specific settings leading up to a migration
  • Test DNS records before updates
  • Help with local development

Note that modifying the hosts file usually requires administrative privileges from the OS.

The location of the hosts file varies depending on your operating system:

  • MacOS / Linux: /etc/hosts
  • Windows: C:\\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts

Add lines to your operating system's hosts file in the following format:

hosts
203.0.113.10    example.com
203.0.113.20    www.example.com

In the example above, replace the IP addresses with those provided by Pantheon, and the domains with your own.

Configure Your Hosts File with a Local Alias to Your Pantheon Environment

  1. Use dig to get the IP address of your Pantheon environment to use in your hosts file. Replace dev-example.pantheonsite.io with your site's domain:

    dig +short dev-example.pantheonsite.io
203.0.113.42

  2. Edit the hosts file as shown below to map the result to an alias for easier local development:

    203.0.113.42    dev-example