Change Hostname for macOS Devices

A hostname is a unique identifier assigned to a device or server on a network that is used for network communication and identification purposes, specifically for Domain Name System (DNS).

When you install the JumpCloud agent on a device, it's assigned an admin-friendly name called a Device Name (or Display Name). The display name can be customized in JumpCloud, but those changes aren't reflected on the local hostname.

This article shows you how to change the hostname of a macOS device as well as how to update the Device Name in JumpCloud to reflect the new hostname.

Changing the macOS Local Hostname

You can update the hostname either manually on the device or via JumpCloud Commands.

Before renaming a macOS device, remember that there are three different references for Hostnames along with their nuances. You can either update the device name manually or use JumpCloud Commands.

Hostname types in macOS:

• LocalHostName: This name will reflect the Local Bonjour Computer Name with ‘.local’ appended to the Hostname.  These can be set differently so review carefully. This is the name that gets set during the initialization of your macOS device on the first time set up of the device.
• ComputerName: This name will map to the “Hostname” reference within the JumpCloud Admin Portal. Generally this name is the same as the LocalHostName upon the first time set up of your macOS device.
• HostName: The underlying MacOS System via the Terminal also has a ‘Hostname’ reference that can be set as well as a local ‘hosts’ file to override DNS, which is outside the scope of this article.

Changing the macOS Local Hostname Manually

To change the hostname on macOS 12 Monterey and prior:

1. Go to System Preferences > Sharing.
2. Click Edit to update the Computer Name.
   
3. Enter the desired name and click OK.
   

To change the hostname on macOS Ventura 13 and newer:

1. Go to System Settings > General > Sharing.
2. Click Edit to update the Local hostname.
3. Enter the desired name and click OK.
   

Allow up to 30 minutes for the JumpCloud Agent to update the device’s information to the newly changed hostname.

To verify the device's hostname in JumpCloud:

1. Log in to the JumpCloud Admin Portal.
2. Go to DEVICE MANAGEMENT > Devices.
3. Select the Devices tab.
4. Locate the device in the list and select it.
5. Go to the Insights tab and scroll down to Network to view the Hostname.

Next, update the JumpCloud Device Name based on the updated macOS hostname. See Using PowerShell to Update the Device Name to reflect the new Hostname.

Using Commands to Change the Local Hostname

You can also update the device's local hostname using JumpCloud Commands from the Commands and standard macOS command-line utilities. For more information on commands, see Get Started: Commands.

To create a new Command within JumpCloud for macOS:

1. Log in to the JumpCloud Admin Portal.
2. Go to DEVICE MANAGEMENT > Commands.
3. Click ( + ), then choose Command.
4. Name the command (for example, Rename Hostname for macOS).
5. Using the following command as a template, enter the new name of the device where it says NEW_HOSTNAME_GOES_HERE and enter in the Command box.
6. Name the command. (e.g. Rename Hostname for macOS)
7. Edit the following command and enter the new name of the device where it says NEW_HOSTNAME_GOES_HERE.

8. Save and then bind this Command to the device you want to update via the Devices tab.

9. Once you’ve bound the Command to the Device, Run the command and wait for a result code of 0 (Success).
10. Upon successful execution of the command, it is highly recommended to restart the device.

Next, update the JumpCloud Device Name based on the updated macOS hostname. See Using PowerShell to Update the Device Name to reflect the new Hostname.

Using PowerShell to Update the Device Name to Reflect the Hostname

Use the following JumpCloud PowerShell command to update the JumpCloud Device Name to match macOS device’s hostname.

You'll need to have the PowerShell Module installed on your local device. See Install the JumpCloud PowerShell Module to learn more.

1. Open PowerShell on your device and type the following command. PowerShell will then prompt you for your JumpCloud Administrator API Key to authenticate to your JumpCloud Org via the API.

2. Next you’ll want to query JumpCloud to confirm current hostname and displayName of the macOS device you’re wanting to update:

• You should see an output similar to the following:
  hostname displayName ————- —————– work-macos-1 macadmins-Mac.local

3. Once you’ve verified that the hostname is correct, issue the following command to change the JumpCloud displayName (Device Name) to be the current hostname:

• You should then see an output similar to the following:
  hostname displayName ————- —————— work-macos-1 work-macos-1