.local domains

TIL that I can assign a .local domain to my laptop. No more diving into network settings to find the IP address and then typing it on a client device on my home network to access a web server running on my laptop.

On macOS, you can set this up easily:

1. Go to System Settings > General > Sharing.
2. Under Local hostname, click Edit.
3. Change the local hostname to your desired name.local and save.

This registers the hostname via Bonjour/mDNS, which resolves to your Mac’s IP address on the local network.

Now, for example, you can access a local web server from your phone by simply typing mac.local:3000 into the browser.