A basic utility for Windows and Linux designed for users to download multiple host files from remote URLs, remove empty lines and comments, and consolidate them into a single combined blocklist/whitelist file. Perfect for services like Portmaster.
HostlistDownloader streamlines hostlists by automatically fetching lists from remote sources that the user configures and merging them into one combined-blocklist/whitelist txt file.
| Functions | Description |
|---|---|
| Remote Fetching | Downloads raw host files directly from URLs defined in configuration INI settings. |
| Filtering and Removal of Duplicates | Automatically strips empty lines, comments (#, ;), and duplicates during consolidation. |
Define your source URLs and user-defined domains in the INI files located within hostfiles/. This configuration system provides clear separation between blocklists, whitelists, and raw downloads.
- Run HostfileDownloader. It will create the blank configuration files for you.
- Edit the
blocklist.inifiles inhostfiles/blocklist.iniwith URL paths of the host list. (Seperated by line) - Edit the
formattype.inifile inhostfiles/formattype.ini. The valid settings are "hosts", "host", "domain", "iponly". (Default is domain) - Ensure source domains are accessible (or use proxies configured in app settings).
- Run HostfileDownloader again; it will download the host lists and will create
combined-...txtoutputs automatically, with the duplicates and the comments removed.
| Path / Filename | Functionality |
|---|---|
hostfiles/blocklist.ini |
Contains URLs to remote hostfile lists for blocking (downloaded by line). |
hostfiles/whitelist.ini |
Contains URLs to remote whitelists. |
hostfiles/userwebsiteblocklist.ini |
Individual domain-only blocks (e.g., google.com prevents website access). |
hostfiles/userwebsitewhitelist.ini |
Individual domain-only allows (e.g., google.com allows website access). |
hostfiles/formattype.ini |
Tells HostlistDownloader what format the combined list should be. The valid settings are "hosts", "host", "domain", "iponly". |
hostfiles/blocklist/combined-blocklist.txt |
Output: Consolidated list containing all blocklist URLs processed and merged locally. |
hostfiles/whitelist/combined-whitelist.txt |
Output: Consolidated list containing all blocklist URLs processed and merged locally. |