You can also change the hostname temporarily or permanently, depending on your needs.<\/p>
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How to check your current hostname<\/strong><\/h2>To check your current Linux system’s hostname, use the hostname<\/strong> or hostnamectl<\/strong> commands in your terminal.<\/p>The hostname<\/strong> command provides a quick look at the active system name:<\/p>hostname<\/pre>The output will show your system’s current hostname:<\/p>
myserver.example.com<\/pre>For more details, use hostnamectl<\/strong>. This command can reveal different types of hostname:<\/p>\n- Static hostname. <\/strong>The primary, persistent system identity stored in the \/etc\/hostname<\/strong> file that initializes the kernel during boot. It is essential for network communication and enforces strict syntax rules, prohibiting spaces and special characters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Pretty hostname. <\/strong>This is a free-form, high-level name stored in \/etc\/machine-info<\/strong> that supports capitalization, spaces, and special characters. Its purpose is to provide a human-readable description for user interfaces and terminal prompts, without affecting network routing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Transient hostname<\/strong>. This is a dynamic identity maintained by the Linux kernel that can change during runtime based on network configurations like DHCP<\/strong> or mDNS<\/strong>. It typically mirrors the static hostname but acts as a temporary fallback to resolve conflicts if the static name is invalid or duplicated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>
You can run hostnamectl by itself without any flags or parameters:<\/p>
hostnamectl<\/pre>The output will display detailed information about your system, including its hostnames:<\/p>
Static hostname: hostinger-vps\nPretty hostname: Hostinger VPS Server\n Icon name: computer-vm\n Chassis: vm\n Machine ID: 45598cbdb6ee462e8696166b520fe788\n Boot ID: 99526e56aeea45c2a0f3b2ffaaffe9d9\n Virtualization: kvm\n Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS\n Kernel: Linux 5.15.0-101-generic\n Architecture: x86-64<\/pre>Note that the transient hostname will appear only after you set a temporary hostname. You can explicitly tell hostnamectl <\/strong>to check it like this:<\/p>hostnamectl --transient<\/pre>The above command will output only the transient hostname of your system. If you haven’t set up the temporary hostname, however, it’ll simply print the static hostname.<\/p>
How to change the hostname permanently<\/strong><\/h2>Permanently changing the hostname of your Linux system ensures that the new identity persists after a reboot. You typically do this when setting up a new VPS<\/a> whose services require persistent communication, such as mail or web applications.<\/p>The easiest way to do it is by running the hostnamectl <\/strong>command:<\/p>\n- Access your device’s terminal. For a remote system, such as a Linux virtual private server, connect via SSH<\/strong>. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Run this command to update the static hostname. Replace new-host-name<\/strong> with your desired name:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname new-host-name<\/pre>\n- Update the \/etc\/hosts <\/strong>file to ensure your system can resolve to its new hostname to the local loopback address. To edit the file, run:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
sudo nano \/etc\/hosts<\/pre>\n- Find the line starting with 127.0.0.1<\/strong> or 127.0.1.1<\/strong> and replace the old hostname with the new one:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
127.0.0.1 localhost\n\n127.0.1.1 new-host-name<\/pre>\n- Press Ctrl + X<\/strong>, Y<\/strong>, then Enter<\/strong> to save the changes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Check whether the new hostname is assigned by executing:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
hostnamectl<\/pre>Important!<\/strong> If your \/etc\/hosts<\/strong> file only contains localhost<\/strong> and not the old hostname, you don’t need to update it. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p>This method works for modern Linux distributions<\/a> that use systemd<\/strong>. If your distro uses another init system, you can change the hostname by editing the configuration file manually.<\/p>How to change the hostname by editing configuration files<\/strong><\/h2>You can manually edit configuration files to change the hostname on any Linux system. This is particularly useful for legacy distributions or when hostnamectl<\/strong> is unavailable:<\/p>\n- Open \/etc\/hostname<\/strong> using a text editor like nano:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
sudo nano \/etc\/hostname<\/pre>\n- Delete the existing name and enter your new desired hostname.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hit Ctrl + X<\/strong>, Y<\/strong>, then Enter<\/strong> to save the file.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Update the \/etc\/hosts<\/strong> name using the same procedure explained in the previous section.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
At this point, your hostname is updated. However, you’ll need to complete additional steps if you use a cloud system like a VPS hosting solution<\/a>, because the provisioning service, like cloud-init<\/strong>, might reset the settings after reboot. Here’s how to preserve the new hostname:<\/p>\n- Open the cloud configuration file:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
sudo nano \/etc\/cloud\/cloud.cfg<\/pre>\n- Find the preserve_hostname<\/strong> parameter and set it to true<\/strong>:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
preserve_hostname: true<\/pre>\n- Hit Ctrl + X<\/strong>, Y<\/strong>, and Enter<\/strong> to save the changes. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Apply the changes by restarting your server:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
sudo reboot<\/pre>Once your system finishes restarting, check the \/etc\/hostname<\/strong> file to verify that the change has been applied:<\/p>cat \/etc\/hostname<\/pre>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hostinger.com\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/02\/VPS-hosting-banner-1024x300.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>How to change hostname using nmtui<\/strong><\/h2>If you are changing your hostname as part of broader network maintenance or prefer using an interactive interface, use nmtui<\/strong>. This works similarly to hostnamectl but has an intuitive menu and more network-related options.<\/p>Install the tool before proceeding, as it’s not pre-installed in all Linux distributions. To do it on a Debian-based <\/strong>operating system like Ubuntu<\/strong>, run:<\/p>sudo apt install network-manager<\/pre>Meanwhile, run the following if you use Red Hat Enterprise Linux<\/strong>-based distros like CentOS <\/strong>and AlmaLinux<\/strong>:<\/p>sudo dnf install NetworkManager-tui<\/pre>Now, change your hostname using nmtu<\/strong>i:<\/p>\n- Launch the nmtui <\/strong>interface by running the following command:<\/li>\n<\/ol>
sudo nmtui<\/pre>\n- Using your arrow keys, navigate to the Set system hostname <\/strong>menu. <\/strong>Hit Enter<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>
![\"The](\"\/tutorials\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/02\/The-the-Set-system-hostname-option-on-the-NetworkManager-TUI-window.png\")
The hostname<\/strong> command provides a quick look at the active system name:<\/p> The output will show your system’s current hostname:<\/p> For more details, use hostnamectl<\/strong>. This command can reveal different types of hostname:<\/p> You can run hostnamectl by itself without any flags or parameters:<\/p> The output will display detailed information about your system, including its hostnames:<\/p> Note that the transient hostname will appear only after you set a temporary hostname. You can explicitly tell hostnamectl <\/strong>to check it like this:<\/p> The above command will output only the transient hostname of your system. If you haven’t set up the temporary hostname, however, it’ll simply print the static hostname.<\/p> Permanently changing the hostname of your Linux system ensures that the new identity persists after a reboot. You typically do this when setting up a new VPS<\/a> whose services require persistent communication, such as mail or web applications.<\/p> The easiest way to do it is by running the hostnamectl <\/strong>command:<\/p> Important!<\/strong> If your \/etc\/hosts<\/strong> file only contains localhost<\/strong> and not the old hostname, you don’t need to update it. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/p> This method works for modern Linux distributions<\/a> that use systemd<\/strong>. If your distro uses another init system, you can change the hostname by editing the configuration file manually.<\/p> You can manually edit configuration files to change the hostname on any Linux system. This is particularly useful for legacy distributions or when hostnamectl<\/strong> is unavailable:<\/p> At this point, your hostname is updated. However, you’ll need to complete additional steps if you use a cloud system like a VPS hosting solution<\/a>, because the provisioning service, like cloud-init<\/strong>, might reset the settings after reboot. Here’s how to preserve the new hostname:<\/p> Once your system finishes restarting, check the \/etc\/hostname<\/strong> file to verify that the change has been applied:<\/p> If you are changing your hostname as part of broader network maintenance or prefer using an interactive interface, use nmtui<\/strong>. This works similarly to hostnamectl but has an intuitive menu and more network-related options.<\/p> Install the tool before proceeding, as it’s not pre-installed in all Linux distributions. To do it on a Debian-based <\/strong>operating system like Ubuntu<\/strong>, run:<\/p> Meanwhile, run the following if you use Red Hat Enterprise Linux<\/strong>-based distros like CentOS <\/strong>and AlmaLinux<\/strong>:<\/p> Now, change your hostname using nmtu<\/strong>i:<\/p>hostname<\/pre>
myserver.example.com<\/pre>
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hostnamectl<\/pre>
Static hostname: hostinger-vps\nPretty hostname: Hostinger VPS Server\n Icon name: computer-vm\n Chassis: vm\n Machine ID: 45598cbdb6ee462e8696166b520fe788\n Boot ID: 99526e56aeea45c2a0f3b2ffaaffe9d9\n Virtualization: kvm\n Operating System: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS\n Kernel: Linux 5.15.0-101-generic\n Architecture: x86-64<\/pre>
hostnamectl --transient<\/pre>
How to change the hostname permanently<\/strong><\/h2>
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sudo hostnamectl set-hostname new-host-name<\/pre>
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sudo nano \/etc\/hosts<\/pre>
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127.0.0.1 localhost\n\n127.0.1.1 new-host-name<\/pre>
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hostnamectl<\/pre>
How to change the hostname by editing configuration files<\/strong><\/h2>
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sudo nano \/etc\/hostname<\/pre>
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sudo nano \/etc\/cloud\/cloud.cfg<\/pre>
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preserve_hostname: true<\/pre>
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sudo reboot<\/pre>
cat \/etc\/hostname<\/pre>
<\/a><\/figure>How to change hostname using nmtui<\/strong><\/h2>
sudo apt install network-manager<\/pre>
sudo dnf install NetworkManager-tui<\/pre>
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sudo nmtui<\/pre>
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