Hostbuddy For Mac

Host files, also knows as “hosts” are simple text document files that are used by OS X to map hostnames and IP addresses. Commonly, host files are also used to override DNS servers, or to block access to malicious or malware filled websites by pointing to an unused IP address.

Popularly, host files are edited with the help of the Terminal.app: simply open the Terminal.app, prompt the “sudo nano /private/etc/hosts” command, use the arrow keys to navigate to the bottom of the host file, make your modification, save changes with the help of “CTRL + O”, exit nano mode by pressing “CTRL + X”, and you’re all set.

Sure you can do the trickery described above and manually edit /etc/hosts files with the help of the Terminal, but there’s an ever faster and easier way available.

To your aid comes Hostbuddy, a streamlined and user-friendly OS X application that aims to make editing and managing /etc/hosts files on your Mac seem like a walk in the park.

Basically, it makes it very easy for you to add host entries without having to use the Terminal while allowing you to turn on or off the host groups with only one click, so you can block or redirect websites, and easily switch between staging and production servers.

Besides the fact that it enables you to manage host files more easily, another worth-mentioning reason to use Hostbuddy is the fact that it doesn’t overwrite your Mac’s original and existing /etc/hosts file, therefore, when you quit the application, everything will revert back to its original state, no hassle what so ever.

Due to its simple interface represented only by a top toolbar, a browsing panel in the left side, and an editing panel in the middle, working with Hostbuddy is very easy as you only need to edit the host file, click the “Apply Changes”, and then the “Flush Cache” button.

Hostbuddy proved itself to be a very reliable and easy to use OS X host editor that should definitely have its own place on your Mac if you are interested in the advantages brought by working with host files.