curl --resolve and SNI: Testing Virtual Hosts Without /etc/hosts

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When you need to test a virtual host on a specific IP but don’t want to edit /etc/hosts — whether due to permissions, conflicts with other services, or just the habit of keeping the file clean — curl --resolve solves both problems at once: it overrides DNS resolution and sends the correct SNI in the TLS handshake.

Problem: virtual host without editing /etc/hosts

Multiple virtual hosts can live on a single IP, and the server picks the right one based on the Host header (HTTP/1.1) and SNI (TLS). Without an entry in /etc/hosts, curl first tries to resolve the name through DNS — getting the wrong IP, or no response at all.

Curl on Lead DevOps

curl --resolve and SNI: Testing Virtual Hosts Without /etc/hosts

Problem: virtual host without editing /etc/hosts