Docker How To Set Hostname

We are going to show you how to set the hostname in for a Docker container. This is easy but you need to know how it is meant to work and what to expect.

NOTE:

• Don’t edit /etc/hostname as this will be overridden by docker.
• You aren’t meant to set the hostname at build time or in the image either. Its meant to be set dynamically at the time of container deployment.

Set Hostname when Deploying Container

Specify the hostname:

docker run -h crusty -i -t ubuntu bash

Specify the FQDN for the container:

docker run -h crusty.crab.com -i -t ubuntu bash

Verify the hostname:

hostname

How to Set Hostname with Docker Compose

You can specify the hostname inside a docker compose file like this:

vi docker-compose.yaml


services:
  web:
    image: nginx
    hostname: crusty.crab.com
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"

Bring it up:

docker compose up

Attach to the container:

docker exec -it test1-web-1 bash

Verify the hostname:

hostname