Linux change my hostname / computer system name

Q. I’m using Ubuntu Linux. How do I change my hostname or the machine name?

A.. You need to use hostname command, which is used to either set or display the current host or domain name of the system. This name is used by many of the networking programs to identify the machine.

Following instructions should work on both Debian and Ubuntu Linux systems.

Task: Display current hostname

Just type hostname command print the name of the system:
$ hostname
Output:

vivek-desktop.gite.in

Task: Change hostname

Set hostname to desktop.nixcraft.com:
# hostname desktop.nixcraft.com # hostname
Output:

desktop.nixcraft.com

Task: Change hostname permanently

You need to edit a file called /etc/hostname:
# vi /etc/hostname
Set new hostname:

desktop.nixcraft.com

Save and close the file.

A note for Redhat / CentOS Linux users

If you are using CentOS or Fedora or Redhat (RHEL) Linux, see this FAQ.

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