DNS

Your browser needs blog.test to resolve to 127.0.0.1. Valet sets that up without replacing your system’s DNS configuration: the DNS servers your network provides, LAN names and VPN DNS keep working.

There are two ways it does this. valet install picks the first one that works on your system.

Delegation through systemd-resolved

Valet uses this when all of these are true:

• systemd is version 258 or newer,
• systemd-resolved is running and /etc/resolv.conf points to its stub resolver,
• dnsmasq is installed.

Valet then runs a small private dnsmasq instance (valet-cubed-dns.service) that listens only on 127.0.0.2:53535 and answers only for Valet’s domain, with 127.0.0.1. A systemd-resolved DNS delegate (/etc/systemd/dns-delegate.d/valet-cubed.dns-delegate) sends lookups for that domain, and only that domain, to it.

Every name under the domain resolves, so wildcard subdomains such as api.blog.test work. Valet checks that the delegation answers before it relies on it.

Fallback: /etc/hosts

On other systems, or if the delegation doesn’t answer, Valet writes a managed block to /etc/hosts with one line per parked, linked, secured and proxied site:

# Valet Cubed hosts start
# Managed by Valet Cubed. Do not edit between these markers.
127.0.0.1  blog.test
127.0.0.1  shop.test
# Valet Cubed hosts end

Valet rewrites the block whenever you park, forget, link, unlink, secure, unsecure, proxy or unproxy, and never changes anything outside the markers.

With this method:

• New folders need a refresh. A folder you create inside an already-parked directory isn’t in the block yet. Run valet restart hosts to add it.
• Wildcard subdomains don’t work. Add a link for each subdomain you need.

What Valet doesn’t do

Valet doesn’t install a system-wide dnsmasq, change NetworkManager’s DNS mode, replace /etc/resolv.conf, or set public DNS servers. Releases of Valet Linux+ up to 2.0.3 did. If you upgraded from one of those, see Upgrading.

Browsers with their own DNS

Browsers set to use DNS over HTTPS with a public provider send lookups past your system’s resolver, so they can’t see Valet’s names. If a site works with curl but not in your browser, turn off secure DNS for the browser, or set it to use your system’s resolver.