Add or update an HTB host entry in /etc/hosts (no sudo needed). Use this whenever you need a hostname like machine.htb to resolve to a box IP. Entries go in a managed block and can be cleaned later.

Remove an HTB host entry from the managed block by hostname or IP.

Remove managed host entries. No args wipes the whole block; tag removes one box by its exact tag; match removes the entries htb_hosts_select would return for the same patterns (every pattern must match); exclude is the inverse keep-list, removing everything EXCEPT entries matching ANY pattern. The three are mutually exclusive. Set dry_run to preview what would go without touching the file.

Structured overview of the managed hosts, both flat ('entries') and grouped by box ('groups'). patterns narrows to the entries they select, exactly as htb_hosts_select does. Set full=true to also include unmanaged/system entries (localhost, etc.).

Look up managed entries by fuzzy pattern and return just their bare values, ready to feed into another command. patterns matches against ip/tag/hostname, and several patterns NARROW (every one must match). field picks what comes back: 'ip' (default) or 'host'. Use this to resolve a box name to its IP before scanning.

Recompute every entry's tag from its box name (fixes bulk tag=imported).

Save an explicit snapshot of /etc/hosts (never auto-pruned).

Restore /etc/hosts from a snapshot (most recent if no name is given).

List available /etc/hosts snapshots, oldest first.