How to Edit the Hosts File on Windows 10 (2026)

Editing the hosts file on Windows 10 is straightforward once you know two things: the exact file path and that you must run your editor as administrator. This guide walks through the complete process, common errors, and verification steps.

For the cross-platform overview see How to edit the host file on all platforms.

Where is the hosts file on Windows 10?

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts

Key facts:

• No file extension — the file is named hosts, not hosts.txt
• Protected location — inside System32, requires admin write access
• Plain text — editable with any text editor opened as administrator
• Same path on Windows 11 — location unchanged since Windows XP

You can navigate there in File Explorer, but you cannot save changes without administrator privileges.

Step-by-step: Notepad as administrator

Step 1: Open Notepad with admin rights

1. Press the Windows key 2. Type Notepad 3. Right-click Notepad in the search results 4. Click Run as administrator 5. Click Yes on the User Account Control (UAC) prompt

Important: Clicking Notepad normally (without "Run as administrator") will let you open the file but not save changes.

Step 2: Open the hosts file

1. In Notepad: File → Open (or Ctrl+O) 2. Navigate to: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc 3. At the bottom-right, change **"Text Documents (*.txt)" to "All Files (*.*)" 4. Select hosts (no extension visible) 5. Click Open**

If the etc folder appears empty, you forgot to change the file type filter.

Step 3: Add your entry

Scroll to the bottom and add a new line. Format:

IP_address    domain_name

Example for local development:

# My Laravel project
127.0.0.1    myapp.test
127.0.0.1    api.myapp.test

Example for staging override:

# Temporary - remove after migration
203.0.113.50    www.client-site.com

Use spaces or tabs between the IP and domain — at least one separator is required.

Step 4: Save

Press Ctrl+S or File → Save.

Success: No error message, file closes normally.

Failure — "Access is denied": You did not open Notepad as administrator. Close Notepad completely and restart from Step 1.

Step 5: Flush DNS cache

Open Command Prompt as administrator:

1. Press Windows key, type cmd 2. Right-click Command Prompt → Run as administrator 3. Run:

ipconfig /flushdns

Expected output:

Successfully flushed the DNS Resolver Cache.

Verify your changes work

Test with ping

ping myapp.test

Expected:

Pinging myapp.test [127.0.0.1] with 32 bytes of data:

Test in browser

Open http://myapp.test in your browser. If your local server is running on port 80, the page should load.

If using a non-standard port (e.g., 8000), the hosts file still works — you just need http://myapp.test:8000.

Default Windows 10 hosts file

A fresh Windows 10 install typically contains:

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names.
127.0.0.1       localhost
::1             localhost

Do not remove the localhost entries — other applications depend on them.

Common problems on Windows 10

Access denied when saving

Cause: Notepad opened without admin rights.

Fix: Close Notepad. Right-click → Run as administrator. See Edit hosts file as administrator.

Hosts file not visible in Open dialog

Cause: File type filter set to "Text Documents (*.txt)".

Fix: Change dropdown to "All Files (*.*)".

Changes saved but site still resolves to old IP

Causes and fixes:

1. DNS cache not flushed → ipconfig /flushdns 2. Browser DNS cache → Chrome: chrome://net-internals/#dns → Clear host cache 3. VPN or custom DNS (1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8) bypassing hosts file on some Windows builds 4. Antivirus restoring the file — check security software logs

File reverts after reboot

Some "PC optimization" or security tools reset the hosts file. Check:

• Malwarebytes host shield
• Spybot Search & Destroy immunization
• Corporate group policy restrictions

Cannot ping the domain but browser works (or vice versa)

Windows 10 uses different resolution paths for ping vs browsers in some configurations. Always flush DNS and clear browser cache together.

Alternative editors on Windows 10

Hosts file syntax reminder

127.0.0.1       domain.test          # IPv4
::1             domain.test          # IPv6
0.0.0.0         blocked-site.com     # Block domain
# This is a comment

Full syntax rules: Hosts file syntax guide.

Windows 10 vs Windows 11

The hosts file location, syntax, and Notepad method are identical on Windows 10 and Windows 11. Windows 11 adds a redesigned Start menu and Settings app, but the underlying process is unchanged.

For Windows 11-specific methods (including PowerShell and Settings shortcuts) see Edit hosts file on Windows 11.

IIS and local development on Windows 10

If you run IIS, WAMP, XAMPP, or Laragon on Windows 10, the hosts file pairs naturally with local site bindings:

1. Configure your web server to respond to myapp.test on port 80 or 443 2. Add 127.0.0.1 myapp.test to the hosts file 3. Flush DNS and browse to http://myapp.test

For HTTPS local development, combine hosts entries with a tool like mkcert to generate trusted local certificates. The hosts file handles name resolution; your certificate tool handles TLS trust.

Windows 10 Enterprise and domain-joined machines

On Active Directory domain-joined PCs, Group Policy may restrict hosts file editing. Symptoms include saves that appear successful but revert on next login, or GPO-deployed hosts templates that merge with local entries unpredictably.

If you are on a managed machine:

• Check with IT before adding entries
• Document business justification for staging overrides
• Never bypass corporate security policy — use an approved dev VM instead

Automating hosts entries on Windows 10

Developers who frequently add/remove entries can script the workflow:

# Add entry if missing (run as admin)
$entry = "127.0.0.1    myapp.test"
$hosts = "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts"
if (-not (Select-String -Path $hosts -Pattern "myapp.test" -Quiet)) {
    Add-Content -Path $hosts -Value $entry
    ipconfig /flushdns
    Write-Host "Added: $entry"
}

Pair this with a removal script for teardown. Idempotent scripts prevent duplicate lines that cause confusing resolution behavior.

Best practices for Windows developers

• Use `.test` TLD for local domains — avoids conflicts with real domains
• Comment every entry — future you will thank present you
• Back up before bulk imports — copy hosts to hosts.backup
• Remove staging overrides after migration — stale entries cause hard-to-debug issues
• Flush DNS after every edit — make it a habit, not an afterthought
• Document team entries — share a standard hosts snippet in your project README
• Pin an admin Terminal shortcut if you edit hosts weekly or more

Example team snippet:

# === Project Alpha (all devs) ===
127.0.0.1    app.alpha.test
127.0.0.1    api.alpha.test
127.0.0.1    admin.alpha.test

Related guides

• Main guide — all platforms
• Windows 11 — three methods
• Administrator rights explained
• Block a website with hosts file
• Is editing the hosts file safe?
• Complete hosts file reference

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*Last tested: Windows 10 22H2 — June 2026.*