In this tutorial, we will explain everything about the hosts file in Linux. The purpose of the host file is to map a domain name to its IP address. In this file, we can configure which websites can access the system, how specific hostnames can be resolved, which websites we want to block, etc. In the following paragraphs, we will describe a host file, how to find the host file location in Linux, how it is used, and how to edit it in any Linux operating system.
Editing a host’s files requires root privileges on the server or a user with sudo privileges. This is important because, at the end of the tutorial, we will explain how to edit the host’s file in Linux with real examples. Let’s get started!