Mamp not respecting /etc/hosts in macOS
Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2026 8:31 am
I noticed Safari specifically, has a difficult time resolving sites locally (via the hosts file) - the results are inconsistent if you have the same domain hosted externally somewhere. Disabling IPV6 and changing local DNS name servers (to something other than your router) has no impact. I suspect it's some privacy setting Safari is doing.
The latest version of Chrome today works fine for me browsing my sites locally, it does not have this issue and will respect your hosts file first for browsing (so it doesn't conflict outside).
The latest version of Chrome today works fine for me browsing my sites locally, it does not have this issue and will respect your hosts file first for browsing (so it doesn't conflict outside).