Modify Alpine Linux Hostname – 3 Easy Steps

This tutorial intends to teach you to Modify Alpine Linux Hostname. As you may know, Alpine is a lightweight and efficient Linux distribution. One of the essential and basic tasks that everyone must want to do is to set or change the hostname in Alpine Linux. A hostname is a label that identifies a machine on a network.

You can proceed to the following guide steps on the Orcacore website to easily modify Alpine Linux Hostname.

Note: If you are looking for Alpine Linux First Installation steps, check this guide on Alpine Linux Installation for Beginners.

How To Modify Alpine Linux Hostname? Set or Change Hostname

You may need to modify Alpine Linux hostname to reflect a different role or identity for the system on a network. This guide will teach you to temporarily and permanently modify the hostname.

Step 1 – View the Current Hostname in Alpine Linux

First, you can start by displaying the current hostname in Alpine Linux. You can easily use the following hostname command to do this:

hostname

Also, you can use the hostname command with the -f option to view the fully qualified domain name:

hostname -f

In my case, I get the following outputs:

Step 2 – Temporary Change Hostname in Alpine Linux

You can now easily use the hostname command with your desired hostname to change or set the hostname. For example:

hostname ORC

Then, you can check the hostname by running the hostname command:

hostname

Note: This command will immediately set the hostname to the new hostname. You must remember that this is a temporary change. After reboot, your changes are not available.

Step 3 – Permanently Change Hostname in Alpine Linux

If you plan to permanently change or set a hostname in Alpine Linux, you need to modify the /etc/hostname file. In this way, after rebooting the system, you have your changes available.

You must open the file with your desired text editor like the Vi Editor or Nano Editor:

vi /etc/hostname

Replace the existing hostname with your new hostname. For example:

Once you are done, save and close the file.

Also, you can use another command to change the hostname. To do this, you can use the echo command:

echo "Put-hostname-here" > /etc/hostname

Update /etc/hosts file in Alpine Linux

To permanently change the hostname, you must also update the /etc/hosts file. Open the file with your desired text editor:

vi /etc/hosts

Look for the line that maps 127.0.0.1 to your current hostname, and update it to your new hostname:

127.0.0.1   localhost new-hostname

Once you are done, save and close the file.

Now you can verify your hostname is changed by running the hostname command again:

hostname

Note: By doing this, the hostname will change immediately and persist after a reboot. There is no need to restart the system.

For more information, you can use the hostname help command or use the man page:

hostname --help

Conclusion

At this point, you have learned to Modify Alpine Linux Hostname. If you plan to set or change the hostname temporarily or permanently, this guide steps will help you to do it. It is a simple and easy guide to use. Hope you enjoy it.

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