Most DNS tools (like dig and nslookup) perform IP lookups against DNS servers, ignoring /etc/hosts entries. Luckily, OS X provides the dscacheutil command to perfom a number of functions including checking local host entries. Below is an example that I used to verify the hostname/IP address combo that my system had registered in /etc/hosts.

I use drush aliases between Drupal VM and Drupal hosting services quite a bit. It was great to learn that drush site-set allows me to set the alias to use for the current session, so I don't have to type the alias name over and over again. For instance, I can set an alias like this: $ drush site-set @drupalvm.drupal8.dev, allowing me to check the status of the site on the Drupal VM with $ drush status.

Many developers use Vagrant to maintain development environments. Some may not realize that there is a Vagrant plugin architecture that can extended functionality. Plugins provide a wide range of functionality including, new commands, low level Vagrant interaction with action hooks, new providers to replace VirtualBox, and extended host and guest capabilities.