Changing the Hostname on Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Server

How to Check the Hostname

Using hostnamectl

Command to Check the Hostname
hostnamectl

Example Output of the Hostname Check Command
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$ hostnamectl
 Static hostname: ubuntu2604
       Icon name: computer-vm
         Chassis: vm 🖴
      Machine ID: 4a8cf9d0938b433e8fb26a71d7d266a7
         Boot ID: b37517594817444bbfa955abceb52cd2
  Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
          Kernel: Linux 7.0.0-28-generic
    Architecture: x86-64
 Hardware Vendor: QEMU
  Hardware Model: Ubuntu 24.04 PC _Q35 + ICH9, 2009_
Hardware Version: pc-q35-noble
Firmware Version: 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2
   Firmware Date: Tue 2014-04-01
    Firmware Age: 12y 3month 2w 4d
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$

Using hostname

Command to Check the Hostname
hostname

Example Output of the Hostname Check Command
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$ hostname
ubuntu2604
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$

The above output is for a host whose hostname is ubuntu2604.

How to Change the Hostname

Permanent Change: the hostnamectl Method

A command that keeps the configured hostname even after a system reboot.

Command to Set the Hostname
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname [NAME]

Field	Value
[NAME]	Specify the hostname to set

Example of Running the Hostname Set Command
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$ sudo hostnamectl set-hostname webserver
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$ hostnamectl
 Static hostname: webserver
       Icon name: computer-vm
         Chassis: vm 🖴
      Machine ID: 4a8cf9d0938b433e8fb26a71d7d266a7
         Boot ID: b37517594817444bbfa955abceb52cd2
  Virtualization: kvm
Operating System: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
          Kernel: Linux 7.0.0-28-generic
    Architecture: x86-64
 Hardware Vendor: QEMU
  Hardware Model: Ubuntu 24.04 PC _Q35 + ICH9, 2009_
Hardware Version: pc-q35-noble
Firmware Version: 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2
   Firmware Date: Tue 2014-04-01
    Firmware Age: 12y 3month 2w 4d
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$

The above is an example of changing the hostname to webserver. The prompt doesn’t update immediately — it will reflect the change after you log in again. With this method, the hostname remains changed even after a reboot.

Temporary Change: the hostname Method

This method is a temporary change and is not permanent.

Command to Set the Hostname
sudo hostname [NAME]

Field	Value
[NAME]	Specify the hostname to set

Example of Running the Hostname Set Command
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$ sudo hostname dbserver
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$ hostname
dbserver
kazu@ubuntu2604:~$

The above is an example of temporarily changing the hostname to dbserver. The prompt doesn’t update immediately — it will reflect the change after you log in again. After a reboot, the hostname reverts to what it was before the change.