Host file install for Mac
From HostBaby Wiki
The 'host file install' is a way to start using our Wizard website creator without changing where your domain name currently points.
Contents |
Step 1
Open up Finder and navigate to
Applications -> Utilities -> Terminal
to start up the Terminial program:
Step 2
You should see this mostly white Terminal window pop up:
Step 3
At the prompt type in:
sudo pico /private/etc/hosts
and hit the return key on your keyboard. You will prompted for your *Administrator* password (the same password you'd enter to install new programs on your computer.)
NOTE: When you enter that password, it will not be echoed, i.e., you will not see what you typed... then hit the return key:
Step 4
If you've entered the correct administrator password from the previous page then the pico program will have started up. NOTE: Your mouse will not do much in Terminal so use only the arrow keys to move around.
Press the down arrow key to get to the very bottom of the file:
At the very bottom of the file copy+paste the line that we sent you instead of the
67.139.134.232 wizard.yourdomain.com example below:
Step 5
We now need to WriteOut (or Save) this new change to the file. Hold the control key (make sure it's the control key and *not* the cmd [or apple] key) and tap the little letter 'o' key once... and you'll see the
File Name to Write: /private/etc/hosts
as it is in the image. Hit the return key to accept:
Step 6
After we've did the WriteOut correctly, there'll be a message like the Wrote 11 lines message you see below (it may be a different number than 11 on your computer depending on how many lines you had already in your hosts file. You can now exit out of the pico program by holding the control key (make sure it's the control key and *not* the cmd [or apple] key) and tap the little letter 'x' key once... and be returned to the prompt we saw from when we first started up the Terminal program.
You can now exit out of Terminal completely:
Step 6
After your computer is restarted, open your browser and type the following into your URL bar
http://wizard.yourdomain.com/
(substitute your website name for 'yourdomain.com')
You should see the "Coming Soon" page. This where you can view your site every time you publish.
To work on your domain, go to http://yourdomainname.com/hostbaby
Make sure not to use 'www' when you look at your domain. Sometimes browsers are tricky and will insert it when you are not looking :)
