Ubuntu change hostname command The procedure to change the computer name on Ubuntu Linux: Type the following command to edit /etc/hostname using nano or vi text editor: sudo nano /etc/hostname Delete the old name and setup new name. Next Edit the /etc/hosts file: sudo nano /etc/hosts Replace any occurrence of the existing computer name with your new one. Reboot the system to changes take effect: sudo reboot How to change the Ubuntu server hostname without a system restart? Type the following commands: $ sudo hostname new-server-name-here Next edit the /etc/hostname file and update hostname: $ sudo nano /etc/hostname Finally, edit the /etc/hosts file and update the lines that reads your old-host-name: $ sudo nano /etc/hosts