Modify the Local Hosts File
Use your local hosts file to test domain-specific settings and DNS records.
Discuss in our Forum Discuss in SlackThis 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:
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
Use
dig
to get the IP address of your Pantheon environment to use in yourhosts
file. Replacedev-example.pantheonsite.io
with your site's domain:dig +short dev-example.pantheonsite.io 203.0.113.42
Edit the
hosts
file as shown below to map the result to an alias for easier local development:203.0.113.42 dev-example