OpenMacApps

hostflip

Menu bar switcher for /etc/hosts profiles that writes only its own block and shows a diff when the file changed elsewhere.

MIT · Free download · Downloads from github.com

License
MIT
Open source
Category
Developer tools
Source
GitHub
heronapp
Verified
2026

About hostflip

hostflip switches between profiles of /etc/hosts entries from the menu bar. It keeps your base entries as they are and writes each active profile inside a fenced block, so the rest of the file stays yours. If something else has edited the file, it shows the drift as a diff and asks you to reconcile it before writing again. It suits developers who test against different host mappings and do not want to edit the system file by hand each time.

The app needs macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon; the README says Intel builds are not planned. The DMG is notarized. The first profile switch asks you to approve a helper in System Settings, which is the only prompt the README describes. Removing the helper leaves a row under App Background Activity that macOS owns and only a system-wide reset can clear. Uninstalling does not rewrite /etc/hosts, so the last written block stays in the file until you remove it.

Information

Source code
heronapp/hostflip
License
MIT
Website
github.com
Download
github.com
Category
Developer tools
Topics
Menu bar apps
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