SETUP-HOSTNAME(8)

💖 NAME 💖

okay so this is setup-hostname(8) from the System Manager’s Manual — the page for setup-hostname, which literally sets the system hostname. bestie, it’s giving “tiny but crucial.” ✨

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

setup-hostname [-h] [HOSTNAME]

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

setup-hostname writes HOSTNAME to /etc/hostname. no cap, that’s the whole main-character move. 🫶

Hostnames are limited to 255 characters and may only contain letters, digits (0-9), periods (.) and hyphens (-). A hostname must not start with a hyphen or period. that’s the vibe check, and it is strict. 💅

If HOSTNAME is given, it is validated and written. If validation fails the script exits with an error. 😭

Without HOSTNAME, the current hostname is the default and the user is prompted for a value. so it’s like, “hey bestie, what are we naming this thing?” 🌸

✨ OPTIONS ✨

• -h — display usage information and exit. that’s it, that’s the option list, and she ate. 💅

🍓 FILES 🍓

• /etc/hostname — system hostname file. This file is read at boot. so yeah, she’s important. 🔥

🌈 EXIT STATUS 🌈

• 0 — success. slay. ✨
• 1 — the specified hostname failed validation. 💀

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go check out hostname(1) and setup-alpine(8) if you’re feeling extra. iykyk. 💜

💜 AUTHORS 💜

Natanael Copa <ncopa@alpinelinux.org> and others. icons only. 👑

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🌸 xoxo, Alpine Linux — 2026-06-09 — setup-hostname(8) out 💖