How to Change Hostname on Ubuntu 26.04

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Displaying the Current Hostname

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To find out your current system name, run the following command:

hostnamectl

Output:

root@server:~# hostnamectl

 Static hostname: server
       Icon name: computer-vm
         Chassis: vm 🖴
      Machine ID: 4ba47688027d4ab2a45704ea84959b93
         Boot ID: d65ce7b470db47e5949eeefd55606d33
    Product UUID: 4ba47688-027d-4ab2-a457-04ea84959b93
  Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
          Kernel: Linux 7.0.0-14-generic
    Architecture: x86-64
 Hardware Vendor: Red Hat
  Hardware Model: KVM
Hardware Version: RHEL 7.6.0 PC _i440FX + PIIX, 1996_
Firmware Version: 1.16.0-4.module_el8.9.0+3659+9c8643f3
   Firmware Date: Tue 2014-04-01
    Firmware Age: 12y 3w 3d

Changing the System Hostname

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Now that you know the current hostname, change it by running:

hostnamectl set-hostname vps.crowncloud.net

Replace vps.crowncloud.net with your preferred hostname.

It is also necessary to update the hostname in the /etc/hosts file:

nano /etc/hosts

Modify it like this:

127.0.0.1 localhost
127.0.1.1 vps.crowncloud.net

# The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts
::1     ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
fe00::0 ip6-localnet
ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix
ff02::1 ip6-allnodes
ff02::2 ip6-allrouters

If cloud-init is installed on your Ubuntu server, you also need to modify the cloud.cfg file:

nano /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg

Find the line:

preserve_hostname: false

Change it to:

preserve_hostname: true

Save the file and exit.

Verifying the Change

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To verify that the hostname has been fully changed, run:

hostnamectl

Output:

root@server:~# hostnamectl
 Static hostname: vps.crowncloud.net
       Icon name: computer-vm
         Chassis: vm 🖴
      Machine ID: 4ba47688027d4ab2a45704ea84959b93
         Boot ID: d65ce7b470db47e5949eeefd55606d33
    Product UUID: 4ba47688-027d-4ab2-a457-04ea84959b93
  Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
          Kernel: Linux 7.0.0-14-generic
    Architecture: x86-64
 Hardware Vendor: Red Hat
  Hardware Model: KVM
Hardware Version: RHEL 7.6.0 PC _i440FX + PIIX, 1996_
Firmware Version: 1.16.0-4.module_el8.9.0+3659+9c8643f3
   Firmware Date: Tue 2014-04-01
    Firmware Age: 12y 3w 3d