title: How to Modify Your Hosts File created at: Sat Nov 09 2024 10:43:09 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) updated at: Sat Feb 08 2025 14:22:56 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) --- # How to Modify Your Hosts File # Overview Your hosting provider may offer you a temporary URL in the `http://IP/~username` format (where `IP` represents the server’s IP address and `username` represents the cPanel account name) to access your website. This is useful, for example, if you migrate your website to a new server and want to test the site before you point the DNS records to it. However, some sites will **not** work with a temporary URL. For those sites, you can configure your workstation with the server’s IP address. To do this, modify your workstation’s `/etc/hosts` file to use the server’s domain name and IP address. This document explains how to modify your workstation’s `/etc/hosts` file. !! Note: !! Hosting providers can use the WHM’s [*Apache mod\_userdir Tweak*](https://docs.cpanel.net/whm/security-center/apache-mod_userdir-tweak/) interface (*WHM » Home » Security Center » Apache mod\_userdir Tweak*) to offer their customers a temporary URL. # Modify the hosts file The following methods allow you to modify your workstation’s `/etc/hosts` file. Important: Your workstation’s operating system will **not** remove your changes to the `/etc/hosts` file. If you want the domain that you added to use public DNS entries, you **must** manually remove the domain name and IP address in the `/etc/hosts` file. ## macOS and Linux To modify your `/etc/hosts` file if your workstation runs macOS or a Linux distribution, perform the following steps: 1. On your workstation, open the `/etc/hosts` file with your preferred text editor. 2. Add the server’s IP address and domain name under the last entry in the file, for example: ```bash 127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4 ::1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6 192.168.0.20 example.com 1.2.3.4 username.example.com ``` !! Note:\ In this example, `1.2.3.4` represents the server’s IP address, and `username.example.com` represents the domain name. 1. Save your changes. 2. Reload your browser for the changes to take effect. ## Microsoft Windows To modify the `/etc/hosts` file on a Windows workstation, perform the following steps: 1. Open the *Start* menu. * If you run Windows 8 or Windows 10, type **Win+X** on the keyboard or click the Windows icon in the lower-left corner of your desktop interface. * If you run Windows 7 or Windows Vista, click *Start*. 2. Enter Notepad in the search text box. 3. Right-click *Notepad* and select *Run as Administrator*. 4. In *Notepad*, open the following file: ```javascript C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts ``` 1. Add the destination server’s IP address and domain name under the latest entry in the file, for example: ```bash 127.0.0.1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4 ::1 localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain6 192.168.0.20 example.com 1.2.3.4 username.example.com ``` !! Note:\ In this example, `1.2.3.4` represents the destination server’s IP address, and `username.example.com` represents the domain name. 1. Save your changes. 2. Reload your browser for the changes to take effect.