Why can't I change the hostname of my server using sudo?

Question

From a user that is part of the sudoers group, I can normally run any command by doing sudo <command>

But the following command fails stating "Permission denied"

sudo echo "myhostname" > /etc/hostname

It doesn't even ask me for the password. How do I change the hostname ?

And if you're on a new version of Ubuntu: http://askubuntu.com/a/516898/158442 — muru, Dec 03 '14 at 10:25

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 03 '14 at 09:55

The correct command in your case will be echo "newhostname" | sudo tee /etc/hostname, because as nssnd explained, sudo applies only to single command, and redirection has less priority than sudo. Another option is to use bash command:

sudo bash -c "echo newhostname > /etc/hostname"

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 03 '14 at 11:38

1

sudo applies only to your first command, so the ">" operation is done from your user.

To run your command:

get a root shell by executing sudo -i
execute your command: echo "myhostname" > /etc/hostname
exit the root shell with exit

edited Dec 03 '14 at 11:38

pyther

368

answered Dec 03 '14 at 09:42

kirill-a

2,923

Why can't I change the hostname of my server using sudo?

2 Answers2