LiveHosts

Switch your host/IP mappings in real time without editing your hosts file

LiveHosts is a powerful Chrome extension designed for web developers who manage multiple website environments sharing the same hostnames. It enables real-time switching of host/IP mappings without the need to edit your OS hosts file, which can be slow to take effect in browsers. Unlike traditional methods, LiveHosts redirects requests by appending the hostname after the IP address in the URL (e.g., http://127.0.0.1/www.example.com/), which helps streamline testing across development, staging, and production environments.

While this approach is innovative, it carries some caveats: the domain reflected in the browser changes, potentially causing differences in webpage elements referencing the site URL, altered JavaScript behaviors due to different window.location values, and Cross-Origin request limitations. Despite these minor issues, LiveHosts offers a convenient and efficient solution to handling multiple host assignments in Chrome, significantly reducing developer friction during testing.

By:
Aioros
Users:
10,000
Rating:
3.23
(40)
Version:
2.0.0 Last updated: 2022-03-29
Creation date:
2019-08-05
Risk:
Moderate risk impact Very low risk likelihood
Permissions:
  • declarativeNetRequestWithHostAccess
  • scripting
  • storage
Host permissions:
  • *://*/*
Size:
57.78KB
Email:
ai*****@gmail.com
Full description:
See detailed description
Source:
Chrome Web Store
Updated:
14 hours ago

Other platforms

LiveHosts (v1.1.3)
1,168 3.24 (33)

User reviews

Pros
  • Acts as a convenient alternative to editing the hosts file.
  • Allows viewing of different versions of the same domain in different tabs.
  • Helpful for web developers when building and testing websites.
Cons
  • Does not work on Chrome but functions well on Firefox.
  • Rewrites the URL, which can cause issues with SSL certificates.
  • Lacks an enable/disable feature for records, making it cumbersome to use.
Recent reviews
К сожалению, не работает плагин.
by Ек*****, 2024-09-26

Не работает.
by Дм*****, 2024-08-08

Doesn't work on chrome. Does work on Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/nl/firefox/addon/livehosts/. Can this extension be fixed on chrome? I will adjust my review if it works.
by Je*****, 2024-06-14
View all user reviews ›

Extension safety

Risk impact
Risk impact measures the level of extra permissions an extension has access to. A low risk impact extension cannot do much harms, whereas a high risk impact extension can do a lot of damage like stealing your password, bypassing your security settings, and accessing your personal data. High risk impact extensions are not necessarily malicious. However, if they do turn malicious, they can be very harmful.

LiveHosts requires a few sensitive permissions. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details
  • Critical Allows access to all websites, posing a significant security risk as it can monitor and modify data from any visited site.
Risk likelihood
Risk likelihood measures the probability that a Chrome extension may turn malicious. This is determined by the publisher and the Chrome extension reputation on Chrome Web Store, the amount of time the Chrome extension has been around, and other signals about the Chrome extension. Our algorithms are not perfect, and are subject to change as we discover new ways to detect malicious extensions. We recommend that you always exercise caution when installing a Chrome extension.

LiveHosts has earned a good reputation and can be trusted.

Risk likelihood analysis details
  • High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
  • Low **** ********* *** ******* **** **** * ****** **** ***** ******** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
  • Low **** ********* *** ***** **** **** * ****** **** ***** ********** *** **** ****** ** ** ****** *** *****
  • Good **** ********* ** ****** ** ********
  • Good **** ********* *** **** **** *******
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