# guumaster/hostctl

Your dev tool to manage /etc/hosts like a pro!

Repository: https://github.com/guumaster/hostctl
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/hostctl
Homepage: http://guumaster.github.io/hostctl
Language: Go
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: cli, etchosts, golang, dns, go, developer-tools, hostsfile, hosts-file, localhost-management
Last push: 2024-01-26T21:11:34+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2363, "days_push": 950, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1236, forks 53 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:05.111625+00:00)

## What it is
hostctl is a Go CLI tool for managing the /etc/hosts file with named profiles that can be enabled, disabled, and version-controlled. It also supports syncing host entries with Docker and Docker Compose containers.

## Use cases
- manage /etc/hosts entries from the command line
- enable and disable groups of hostnames per project
- keep hosts file profiles in git
- sync local hostnames with docker compose containers
- switch localhost environments for local development
- automate hosts file editing instead of manual edits

## When to choose
- you frequently toggle hostname mappings for local development
- you want hosts file changes tracked in version control
- you develop with Docker containers needing predictable local hostnames

## When to avoid
- you need full DNS server functionality rather than hosts file editing
- you cannot obtain sudo/administrator privileges on the machine
- you need dynamic service discovery instead of static hostname mappings

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: cli, developer-tools, networking, configuration-management
- domain: developer-tools, networking
- platform: windows, cli, go
- tags: hosts-file, etc-hosts, dns, localhost, docker, profiles, command-line, automation, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- guumaster/hostctl (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:05.111625+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T08:21:58.614467+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/guumaster/hostctl (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:05.111625+00:00, sha 80ab62eaa8cc)
  - homepage: http://guumaster.github.io/hostctl (fetched 2026-08-29T12:21:12.709124+00:00, sha 62ee2e96be54)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.