No Fuss Local Device Names in Arch

Many operating systems, including most Linux distributions, configure devices to have a hostname like device.local accessible on the local network. The way this works is via a protocol called mDNS or Multicast DNS. Arch doesn't set it up by default. To enable it, you only need to enable it in systemd-resolved:

1. Uncomment a section in /etc/systemd/resolved.conf

   MulticastDNS=yes

2. And then restart systemd-resolved

   $ sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved

3. Make sure it's enabled permanently

   $ sudo systemctl enable --now systemd-resolved

After that, you will be able to locate other machines using mDNS on your network with the address hostname.local.

I was setting up another Arch install this weekend and couldn't remember how to do this. I had to dig it out of some chat logs, so I thought it would be best to immoratlize this tip on my blog. For myself, and for you.