pihole-local-dns-recordslisted

This skill should be used when configuring Pi-hole so devices show by friendly name instead of raw IP in the dashboard/Top Clients/Query Log, when the "List of configured clients" (Group Management > Clients) Comment field doesn't seem to change any display elsewhere, when identifying an unlabeled/mystery device on the network without router access, when a dashboard label doesn't update even though the dns.hosts record looks correct, or when managing dns.hosts declaratively via Ansible. Trigger phrases include "pi-hole map traffic to devices", "pi-hole client names in dashboard", "pi-hole Local DNS Records", "dns.hosts pihole.toml", "pihole-FTL --config dns.hosts", "client comment not showing in dashboard", "pihole network table discover devices", "identify unknown device on network", "what is this IP/MAC", "dns-sd companion-link", "mdns bonjour identify device", "private wifi address randomized mac", "dashboard name not updating", "pihole query log lag".
jackson2w/claude-code-skills · ★ 1 · AI & Automation · score 64

Install: claude install-skill jackson2w/claude-code-skills

# Pi-hole 6: making devices show by name, not IP Two different, easily-confused mechanisms live in Pi-hole 6's admin UI: 1. **Group Management → Clients** ("List of configured clients") — assigns a device (by MAC or IP) to a blocking group so it gets different blocklists/rules. The **Comment** field here is only a label for *your own bookkeeping on this page* — it does **not** propagate to the dashboard, Top Clients, or Query Log. This is a long-standing, still-open Pi-hole feature request (confirmed via Pi-hole's own Discourse as of 2025/2026) — don't assume setting a Comment here accomplishes "friendly names in the dashboard." 2. **Local DNS Records** — a plain IP→hostname map. This is what actually makes the dashboard, Top Clients, and Query Log show a name. Requires a **stable IP** (DHCP reservation) per device — an IP that later changes leaves a stale mapping, so this is a poor fit for devices whose IP isn't reserved (e.g. a phone using Private Wi-Fi Address / MAC randomization with no router-side reservation). ## Where Local DNS Records actually live (Pi-hole 6 / FTL v6.7+) Stored as `dns.hosts` in `/etc/pihole/pihole.toml` — an array of `"IP HOSTNAME"` strings (classic `/etc/hosts` line format, one string per entry). Read/set safely via the FTL CLI rather than hand-editing the TOML directly (avoids drift between the file and FTL's in-memory config): ```bash # read current value pihole-FTL --config dns.hosts # set (JSON array of "IP HOST