How To Change Hostname on AlmaLinux 8

In this tutorial, we will show you how to change the hostname on AlmaLinux. For those of you who didn’t know, Hostname is a label that is assigned to a device connected to a computer network and that is used to identify the device in various forms of electronic communication. During the installation of Almalinux 8, either the admin defines a hostname or one is automatically created. The assigned system name is not always easy to remember. Later, if you add more machines to the network, you may want to organize hostnames.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. If you are ready open up your terminal and follow through with this tutorial, and in less than 10 minutes you will have changed your hostname on an AlmaLinux 8.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: AlmaLinux 8.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Change Hostname on AlmaLinux 8

Step 1. Check the current hostname.

First, let’s check the current hostname by using either the hostname or hostnamectl command.

$ hostname
localhost.idroot.us

$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: localhost.idroot.us
         Icon name: computer-vm
           Chassis: vm
        Machine ID: abeb8e24781744100120caad0bb3c40
           Boot ID: 1de1080godet40ada962499ce99483d6
    Virtualization: vmware
  Operating System: AlmaLinux 8.3 (Purple Manul)
       CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:almalinux:almalinux:8.3
            Kernel: Linux 4.20.0-240.el8.x86_64

Step 2. Change Hostname on AlmaLinux.

Now run the following command to change and set Hostname:

hostnamectl set-hostname godetz

Next, add the record for the hostname in the /etc/hosts file:

127.0.0.1 godetz

Finally, restart the systemd-hostnamed service:

systemctl restart systemd-hostnamed

To verify the hostname has been fully changed, enter the hostnamectl command:

$ hostnamectl
   Static hostname: godetz
         Icon name: computer-vm
           Chassis: vm
        Machine ID: abeb8e24781744100120caad0bb3c40
           Boot ID: 1de1080godet40ada962499ce99483d6
    Virtualization: vmware
  Operating System: AlmaLinux 8.3 (Purple Manul)
       CPE OS Name: cpe:/o:almalinux:almalinux:8.3
            Kernel: Linux 4.20.0-240.el8.x86_64

Tips & notes

• Use lowercase letters, digits and dashes; avoid starting/ending with a dash.
• Setting a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) (e.g., server1.example.com) is fine; just be sure the short alias is in /etc/hosts so software finds server1.
• No reboot is necessary when you use hostnamectl or nmtui; only the running systemd-hostnamed service must be refreshed.

Congratulations! You have successfully changed the hostname. Thanks for using this tutorial on how to change and set the hostname on your AlmaLinux 8 system. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you to check the official AlmaLinux website.