Locale

Locale is a native macOS utility for switching named DNS contexts.

It is built with SwiftUI. Day-to-day local builds can use Swift Package Manager, while App Store archives should use the checked-in Xcode project. Locale stores contexts locally, applies the active host mappings through a sandboxed DNS Proxy Network Extension, and leaves system host files untouched.

Features

• Create named DNS contexts for local development, VPNs, labs, and temporary debugging.
• Add, disable, and remove host mappings per context.
• Apply a context through Locale's bundled NEDNSProxyProvider system extension.
• Revert to a clean Home context to clear Locale-managed DNS mappings.
• Switch active contexts from the menu bar.
• Import and export contexts as JSON.
• Use an adaptive macOS app icon compiled from Assets/AppIcon.icon.

Website

The marketing site lives in website/ and is deployed with GitHub Pages from .github/workflows/pages.yml.

Architecture

Locale uses a sandboxed main app plus a bundled DNS Proxy Network Extension:

• Main app writes the active context to the shared App Group defaults.
• LocaleDNSProxy reads the same App Group data.
• Matching DNS questions receive the configured IP address.
• Unmatched DNS traffic is forwarded to the system DNS servers.

The app does not use osascript, a privileged helper, or direct /etc/hosts writes.

Requirements

• macOS 14 or newer
• Xcode command line tools
• Swift toolchain with SwiftPM
• Apple Developer capabilities for App Groups, System Extensions, and DNS Proxy Network Extension when signing for distribution

Build And Run

./script/build_and_run.sh --verify

The app bundle is written to:

dist/Locale.app

Xcode Archive

Open Locale.xcodeproj, select the LocaleApp scheme, then use Product > Archive. Do not archive the Swift package workspace directly; package archives appear in Organizer as Generic Xcode Archives instead of macOS app archives.