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CLI Reference

txeh provides a command-line interface for managing /etc/hosts file entries.

Installation

brew install txn2/tap/txeh

Requires Go 1.24 or later.

go install github.com/txn2/txeh/txeh@latest

The binary is installed to $GOPATH/bin. Ensure this directory is in your $PATH.

Pre-built binaries are available on the GitHub Releases page:

OS Architectures
Linux amd64, arm64, arm, 386
macOS amd64 (Intel), arm64 (Apple Silicon)
Windows amd64, 386

.deb, .rpm, and .apk packages are also available for each release.

git clone https://github.com/txn2/txeh.git
cd txeh
go install ./txeh

Verify installation:

txeh version

Quick Start

# Add a hostname
sudo txeh add 127.0.0.1 myapp.local

# List hosts for an IP
txeh list ip 127.0.0.1

# Remove a hostname
sudo txeh remove host myapp.local

# Preview changes without saving
sudo txeh add 127.0.0.1 myapp.local --dryrun

Global Flags

Flag Short Description
--dryrun -d Output to stdout without saving
--quiet -q Suppress output
--read -r Override path to read hosts file
--write -w Override path to write hosts file
--max-hosts-per-line -m Max hostnames per line (0=auto, -1=unlimited)

Commands

add

Add one or more hostnames to an IP address.

sudo txeh add [IP] [HOSTNAME] [HOSTNAME]...

Flags:

Flag Short Description
--comment -c Add an inline comment to the entry

Examples:

# Add a single hostname
sudo txeh add 127.0.0.1 myapp.local

# Add multiple hostnames
sudo txeh add 127.0.0.1 app1.local app2.local app3.local

# Add with a comment for organization
sudo txeh add 127.0.0.1 myapp.local --comment "dev environment"

# Preview without saving
sudo txeh add 127.0.0.1 myapp.local --dryrun

remove host

Remove one or more hostnames from the hosts file.

sudo txeh remove host [HOSTNAME] [HOSTNAME]...

sudo txeh remove host myapp.local
sudo txeh remove host app1.local app2.local

remove ip

Remove an IP address and all hostnames associated with it.

sudo txeh remove ip [IP] [IP]...

sudo txeh remove ip 127.0.0.1
sudo txeh remove ip 10.0.0.1 10.0.0.2

remove cidr

Remove all addresses within one or more CIDR ranges.

sudo txeh remove cidr [CIDR] [CIDR]...

sudo txeh remove cidr 10.0.0.0/24
sudo txeh remove cidr 192.168.1.0/24 172.16.0.0/12

# Preview with dry run
sudo txeh remove cidr 10.0.0.0/8 --dryrun

remove bycomment

Remove all host entries that have a specific inline comment.

sudo txeh remove bycomment [COMMENT]

sudo txeh remove bycomment "dev environment"
sudo txeh remove bycomment "kubefwd"

list ip

List hostnames associated with one or more IP addresses.

txeh list ip [IP] [IP]...

list cidr

List hostnames for all addresses within CIDR ranges.

txeh list cidr [CIDR] [CIDR]...

list host

List IP addresses associated with one or more hostnames.

txeh list host [HOSTNAME] [HOSTNAME]...

list bycomment

List all hosts that have a specific inline comment.

txeh list bycomment [COMMENT]

show

Display the full rendered hosts file.

txeh show

version

Print the txeh version.

txeh version