Show HN: HostFileApp – Edit your Mac's hosts file without using the Terminal

1 points by RichHickson 2 months ago · 1 comment · 1 min read

Hi HN,

I built a small macOS utility called HostFileApp that lets you manage your /etc/hosts file with a simple visual interface — no Terminal required.

I’ve always found editing the hosts file manually a bit risky and inconvenient (especially when switching between dev and production environments), so I wanted something that felt native to macOS and handled the details safely.

What it does: • Add, edit, or disable host entries visually • Automatically back up before every save • Validate hostnames and IPs • Flush the DNS cache instantly • Optional lightweight local DNS server with wildcard domain support (*.example.com)

It’s built with Swift and SwiftUI, signed and notarised by Apple, and runs natively on Apple Silicon. There’s a small licensing component for updates and continued development, but you can try everything freely for a week — no email required.

I’d really appreciate feedback from other Mac devs or sysadmins: • Is there anything missing that would make this more useful? • How do you handle local domain mapping in your workflow today?

You can download and run it here: https://hostfileapp.com

Thanks, Rich