I have a RPi set up as a hotspot (hostapd) that I use to access a web server set up on the RPi.
This RPi is not connected to the internet, it's just to serve some local pages.
I have Apache installed and so I can easily access it via a browser with the address http://192.168.42.1
The question is how can I use a domain to access it instead?
say I want to connect to the WiFi of the RPi (losing my internet connection) then on my browser go to http://example.com and load/redirect me to http://192.168.42.1 instead.
You can add a hosts entry in the device from which you want to access your raspberry pi using a domain. Let us assume your Pi's IP is 192.168.1.69 assuming the domain you want to use is local-pi.com Example: In an ubuntu based system: add the following lint to your /etc/hosts file:
192.168.1.69 local-pi.com
In a windows based system add the following line to your C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts file:
192.168.1.69 local-pi.com
In the apache server configuration of your pi add the following line:
ServerAlias local-pi.com