Can't update hosts file on mac

Question

When I try to save changes made in /etc/hosts file on mac i get this error:

"hosts" E212: Can't open file for writing

How can I update it?

trying editing in in supersuser mode. Like put "sudo" before the command. — durbnpoisn, Aug 06 '15 at 18:34

score 20 · Accepted Answer · answered Aug 06 '15 at 18:37

20

I found the solution:

just use "sudo" before vi hosts (it will ask for administrator password). By doing this I, basically, open hosts file with Administrator privileges:

$ sudo vi hosts

and the after modifications :wq works just fine!

answered Aug 06 '15 at 18:37

Renat Gatin

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 21 '18 at 00:49

4

Launch the Terminal

  $ sudo vi /etc/hosts

and after the modifications

 :wq!

answered Dec 21 '18 at 00:49

Kiran Sk

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 29 '19 at 14:50

2

My problem was that I was running sudo vi etc/hosts instead of sudo vi /etc/hosts ¯_(ツ)_/¯

answered Jan 29 '19 at 14:50

dani24

This happens when you hardly use the command line ¯_(ツ)_/. – Akash Kumar Seth Feb 26 '21 at 11:29

3 Answers3