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How to change the hostname on an Ubuntu or Linux Mint system with the command line.

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Changing the hostname on a Linux system is very easy indeed. Use this command to set a new hostname.

homer@homer-eME730:~$ sudo hostname netbook.local

Then edit the /etc/hosts file to set the new hostname.

homer@homer-eME730:~$ sudo vim.tiny /etc/hosts

And edit it to the new value.

127.0.0.1       localhost
127.0.1.1       netbook.local

# The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts
::1     ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
fe00::0 ip6-localnet
ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix
ff02::1 ip6-allnodes
ff02::2 ip6-allrouters

Then edit the /etc/hostname file and set the new value there also.

homer@homer-eME730:~$ sudo vim.tiny /etc/hostname

That is all that is required to change the hostname without re-booting. Just close the terminal window and re-open it and the new hostname will show up.

1 thought on “How to change the hostname on an Ubuntu or Linux Mint system with the command line.”

  1. Yes, very informative on a bunch of levels for a new linux usr.
    Had to look up some basic vim cmds (not used it for a year), for anyone not familiar with vim: i [insert mode – edit text ] / esc [back to command mode] / Q [Ex mode] / wq [write and quit].
    I’d tried this a couple of times with $sudo hostname newname – but it didn’t survive boot. Now I know related files have to be altered things make a bit more sense.
    Thanks John.

    Reply

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