Can I use /etc/hosts to map hostnames *and* ports?

Question

Can I map an IP address like 127.0.0.1 to the domain name and port?

For example, I want to map 127.0.0.1 to api.example.com:8000

Answer 1

If you really need to do this, use a reverse proxy. For example, using Nginx:

server {
  listen       api.mydomain.com:80;
  server_name  api.mydomain.com;
  location / {
    proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8000;
  }
}

Answer 2

No, this is impossible. The port is not part of the hostname, so it has no meaning in the hosts file.