Linux Pocket Guide, 2nd Edition

Name

hostname — stdin  stdout  - file  -- opt  --help  --version

Synopsis

hostname [options] [name]

The hostname command prints the name of your computer. Depending on how you have things set up, this might be the fully qualified hostname:

$ hostname
myhost.example.com

or your short hostname:

$ hostname
myhost

You can also set your hostname, as root:^[19]

# hostname orange

However, hostnames and nameservers are complicated topics well beyond the scope of this book. Don’t just blindly start setting hostnames!

Useful options

-i	Print your host’s IP address.
-a	Print your host’s alias name.
-s	Print your host’s short name.
-f	Print your host’s fully qualified name.
-d	Print your host’s DNS domain name.
-y	Print your host’s NIS or YP domain name.
-F hostfile	Set your hostname by reading the name from file hostfile.

^[19] This change might not survive a reboot. Some Linux distros require additional steps, such as placing the hostname into a configuration file that is read at boot time. Consult the documentation for your distro.