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
- 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
- Evidence checked
- Tags
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Sources and image credits
- github.com/heronapp/hostflip
- github.com/heronapp/hostflip/blob/main/LICENSE
- github.com/heronapp/hostflip/releases
- icon.png: heronapp. MIT; upstream app icon, trademarks retained.
License and artwork notices
For the Developer
Link to this page from your README with a badge.
[](https://openmacapps.com/apps/hostflip/)