Domains

Access containers and machines by name using .arcbox DNS.

Automatic DNS

Every container and machine gets a hostname automatically:

<container-name>.arcbox
<machine-name>.arcbox

These hostnames resolve from your Mac without any configuration. You can access services directly:

curl http://my-api.arcbox:8080/health
ssh dev.arcbox

No need to look up IP addresses, configure port mappings for inter-service access, or edit /etc/hosts.

How It Works

DNS querymy-api.arcbox 10.0.2.x Your Mac /etc/resolver/arcbox ArcBox DNS Resolver

ArcBox installs a local DNS resolver for the .arcbox domain. The resolver is configured by the privileged helper and runs as part of the ArcBox daemon.

Only .arcbox queries go through ArcBox. All other DNS traffic uses your normal resolver.

Container Domains

Containers are accessible at <name>.arcbox while running. The hostname resolves to the container's internal IP address.

For containers with exposed ports, you can reach the service from your Mac:

# Container running nginx with -p 8080:80
curl http://my-nginx.arcbox:8080

Machine Domains

Machines are accessible at <name>.arcbox. SSH, HTTP, and any other protocol work:

ssh my-machine.arcbox
curl http://my-machine.arcbox:3000

Compose Services

Containers in a Compose project get hostnames based on their service name:

# docker-compose.yml with service "api"
curl http://api.arcbox:3000

Disabling DNS

If you prefer not to use .arcbox DNS, you can disable it in Settings. The resolver file at /etc/resolver/arcbox will be removed. Containers and machines remain accessible by IP address.

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