Resolving .dev TLD’s

In 2013, I installed a thing called POW to easily allow Rack server setup on OS X. It added an /etc/resolver file that forced all .dev domains with no entry in /etc/hosts to be routed to localhost.

I never really noticed since I always make specific /etc/hosts entries for dev sites. Now that the .dev TLD is available for public use, none of the cool new .dev sites have resolved properly on my system.

Looking in /etc/resolver for a “dev” entry was step 59 of my debugging process. Have not used POW for local Rack apps since trying it out in 2013 (6 years ago!). That is a long-lived and powerfully-slender tentacle left over from a productivity hack.

If this helps anyone else before step 59 of debugging your own .dev resolution debacle, you’re welcome.