diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index f429725822a..90e4213cfe2 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -2585,6 +2585,7 @@ AC_CONFIG_FILES([
 	src/base/Makefile
 	src/clients/Makefile
 	src/comm/Makefile
+	src/configuration/Makefile
 	src/debug/Makefile
 	src/dns/Makefile
 	src/DiskIO/Makefile
diff --git a/src/ConfigParser.cc b/src/ConfigParser.cc
index 0e405eb85ae..ec537e58457 100644
--- a/src/ConfigParser.cc
+++ b/src/ConfigParser.cc
@@ -16,8 +16,11 @@
 #include "fatal.h"
 #include "globals.h"
 #include "neighbors.h"
+#include "parser/Tokenizer.h"
 #include "sbuf/Stream.h"
 
+#include <memory>
+
 bool ConfigParser::RecognizeQuotedValues = true;
 bool ConfigParser::StrictMode = true;
 std::stack<ConfigParser::CfgFile *> ConfigParser::CfgFiles;
@@ -41,14 +44,12 @@ ConfigParser::destruct()
     if (!CfgFiles.empty()) {
         std::ostringstream message;
         CfgFile *f = CfgFiles.top();
-        message << "Bungled " << f->filePath << " line " << f->lineNo <<
-                ": " << f->currentLine << std::endl;
+        message << "Bungled " << f->lineInfo() << std::endl;
         CfgFiles.pop();
         delete f;
         while (!CfgFiles.empty()) {
             f = CfgFiles.top();
-            message << " included from " << f->filePath << " line " <<
-                    f->lineNo << ": " << f->currentLine << std::endl;
+            message << " included from " << f->lineInfo() << std::endl;
             CfgFiles.pop();
             delete f;
         }
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ ConfigParser::strtokFile()
         return ConfigParser::NextToken();
 
     static int fromFile = 0;
-    static FILE *wordFile = nullptr;
+    static std::unique_ptr<Configuration::File> wordFile;
 
     char *t;
     static char buf[CONFIG_LINE_LIMIT];
@@ -90,15 +91,8 @@ ConfigParser::strtokFile()
 
                 *t = '\0';
 
-                if ((wordFile = fopen(fn, "r")) == nullptr) {
-                    debugs(3, DBG_CRITICAL, "ERROR: Can not open file " << fn << " for reading");
-                    return nullptr;
-                }
-
-#if _SQUID_WINDOWS_
-                setmode(fileno(wordFile), O_TEXT);
-#endif
-
+                wordFile.reset(new Configuration::File(fn));
+                wordFile->load();
                 fromFile = 1;
             } else {
                 return t;
@@ -106,26 +100,16 @@ ConfigParser::strtokFile()
         }
 
         /* fromFile */
-        if (fgets(buf, sizeof(buf), wordFile) == nullptr) {
+        static SBuf line;
+        line = wordFile->nextLine();
+        if (line.isEmpty()) {
             /* stop reading from file */
-            fclose(wordFile);
             wordFile = nullptr;
             fromFile = 0;
             return nullptr;
         } else {
-            char *t2, *t3;
-            t = buf;
-            /* skip leading and trailing white space */
-            t += strspn(buf, w_space);
-            t2 = t + strcspn(t, w_space);
-            t3 = t2 + strspn(t2, w_space);
-
-            while (*t3 && *t3 != '#') {
-                t2 = t3 + strcspn(t3, w_space);
-                t3 = t2 + strspn(t2, w_space);
-            }
-
-            *t2 = '\0';
+            assert(line.length() < CONFIG_LINE_LIMIT);
+            t = const_cast<char *>(line.c_str());
         }
 
         /* skip comments */
@@ -341,7 +325,7 @@ ConfigParser::NextToken()
             if (!token) {
                 assert(!wordfile->isOpen());
                 CfgFiles.pop();
-                debugs(3, 4, "CfgFiles.pop " << wordfile->filePath);
+                debugs(3, 4, "CfgFiles.pop " << wordfile->lineInfo());
                 delete wordfile;
             }
         }
@@ -361,6 +345,8 @@ ConfigParser::NextToken()
                 return nullptr;
             }
 
+            assert(path); // a QuotedToken cannot be nil
+
             // The next token in current cfg file line must be a ")"
             char *end = NextToken();
             ConfigParser::PreviewMode_ = savePreview;
@@ -376,14 +362,9 @@ ConfigParser::NextToken()
                 return nullptr;
             }
 
-            ConfigParser::CfgFile *wordfile = new ConfigParser::CfgFile();
-            if (!path || !wordfile->startParse(path)) {
-                debugs(3, DBG_CRITICAL, "FATAL: Error opening config file: " << token);
-                delete wordfile;
-                self_destruct();
-                return nullptr;
-            }
-            CfgFiles.push(wordfile);
+            std::unique_ptr<ConfigParser::CfgFile> wordfile(new ConfigParser::CfgFile(path));
+            wordfile->startParse(); // throws on error
+            CfgFiles.push(wordfile.release());
             token = nullptr;
         }
     } while (token == nullptr && !CfgFiles.empty());
@@ -608,54 +589,32 @@ ConfigParser::optionalAclList()
     return acls;
 }
 
-bool
-ConfigParser::CfgFile::startParse(char *path)
-{
-    assert(wordFile == nullptr);
-    debugs(3, 3, "Parsing from " << path);
-    if ((wordFile = fopen(path, "r")) == nullptr) {
-        debugs(3, DBG_CRITICAL, "WARNING: file :" << path << " not found");
-        return false;
-    }
-
-#if _SQUID_WINDOWS_
-    setmode(fileno(wordFile), O_TEXT);
-#endif
-
-    filePath = path;
-    return getFileLine();
-}
-
-bool
-ConfigParser::CfgFile::getFileLine()
+void
+ConfigParser::CfgFile::startParse()
 {
-    // Else get the next line
-    if (fgets(parseBuffer, CONFIG_LINE_LIMIT, wordFile) == nullptr) {
-        /* stop reading from file */
-        fclose(wordFile);
-        wordFile = nullptr;
-        parseBuffer[0] = '\0';
-        return false;
-    }
-    parsePos = parseBuffer;
-    currentLine = parseBuffer;
-    lineNo++;
-    return true;
+    assert(isOpen());
+    confFileData.load();
+    debugs(3, 3, "Parsing from " << confFileData.lineInfo());
 }
 
 char *
 ConfigParser::CfgFile::parse(ConfigParser::TokenType &type)
 {
-    if (!wordFile)
-        return nullptr;
-
     if (!*parseBuffer)
         return nullptr;
 
     char *token;
     while (!(token = nextElement(type))) {
-        if (!getFileLine())
+        auto line = confFileData.nextLine();
+        if (line.isEmpty()) {
+            *parseBuffer = 0;
             return nullptr;
+        }
+
+        assert(line.length() < CONFIG_LINE_LIMIT);
+
+        SBufToCstring(parseBuffer, line);
+        parsePos = parseBuffer;
     }
     return token;
 }
@@ -671,9 +630,3 @@ ConfigParser::CfgFile::nextElement(ConfigParser::TokenType &type)
     return token;
 }
 
-ConfigParser::CfgFile::~CfgFile()
-{
-    if (wordFile)
-        fclose(wordFile);
-}
-
diff --git a/src/ConfigParser.h b/src/ConfigParser.h
index f85c20ea3ff..ea40d9e0212 100644
--- a/src/ConfigParser.h
+++ b/src/ConfigParser.h
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 
 #include "acl/forward.h"
 #include "base/forward.h"
+#include "configuration/File.h"
 #include "sbuf/forward.h"
 #include "SquidString.h"
 
@@ -22,16 +23,6 @@
 class CachePeer;
 class wordlist;
 
-/**
- * Limit to how long any given config line may be.
- * This affects squid.conf and all included files.
- *
- * Behaviour when setting larger than 2KB is unknown.
- * The config parser read mechanism can cope, but the other systems
- * receiving the data from its buffers on such lines may not.
- */
-#define CONFIG_LINE_LIMIT   2048
-
 /**
  * A configuration file Parser. Instances of this class track
  * parsing state and perform tokenisation. Syntax is currently
@@ -161,22 +152,21 @@ class ConfigParser
 
 protected:
     /**
-     * Class used to store required information for the current
-     * configuration file.
+     * Interprets file content as a series of configuration tokens/elements instead of lines.
      */
     class CfgFile
     {
     public:
-        CfgFile(): wordFile(nullptr), parsePos(nullptr), lineNo(0) { parseBuffer[0] = '\0';}
-        ~CfgFile();
+        CfgFile(const char *path) : confFileData(path) { *parseBuffer = 0; }
+
         /// True if the configuration file is open
-        bool isOpen() {return wordFile != nullptr;}
+        bool isOpen() const { return confFileData.isOpen(); }
 
-        /**
-         * Open the file given by 'path' and initializes the CfgFile object
-         * to start parsing
-         */
-        bool startParse(char *path);
+        // filename and line number for debug display
+        SourceLocation lineInfo() const { return confFileData.lineInfo(); }
+
+        /// Initializes the CfgFile object to start parsing
+        void startParse();
 
         /**
          * Do the next parsing step:
@@ -187,19 +177,17 @@ class ConfigParser
         char *parse(TokenType &type);
 
     private:
-        bool getFileLine();   ///< Read the next line from the file
         /**
          * Return the body of the next element. If the wasQuoted is given
          * set to true if the element was quoted.
          */
         char *nextElement(TokenType &type);
-        FILE *wordFile; ///< Pointer to the file.
+
+    private:
+        Configuration::File confFileData; ///< actual file manager holding unparsed file content
+
         char parseBuffer[CONFIG_LINE_LIMIT]; ///< Temporary buffer to store data to parse
-        const char *parsePos; ///< The next element position in parseBuffer string
-    public:
-        std::string filePath; ///< The file path
-        std::string currentLine; ///< The current line to parse
-        int lineNo; ///< Current line number
+        const char *parsePos = nullptr; ///< The next element position in parseBuffer string
     };
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/Makefile.am b/src/Makefile.am
index 2db91a28d70..67159f155e2 100644
--- a/src/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/Makefile.am
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ LOADABLE_MODULES_SOURCES = \
 	LoadableModules.cc \
 	LoadableModules.h
 
-SUBDIRS = mem time debug base anyp helper dns html ftp parser comm error eui acl format clients sbuf servers fs repl store DiskIO proxyp
+SUBDIRS = mem time debug base configuration anyp helper dns html ftp parser comm error eui acl format clients sbuf servers fs repl store DiskIO proxyp
 
 if ENABLE_AUTH
 SUBDIRS += auth
@@ -521,6 +521,7 @@ squid_LDADD = \
 	mem/libmem.la \
 	store/libstore.la \
 	time/libtime.la \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscencoding.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscutil.la \
@@ -1150,6 +1151,7 @@ tests_testRock_LDADD = \
 	mem/libmem.la \
 	store/libstore.la \
 	$(ADAPTATION_LIBS) \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	time/libtime.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
@@ -1327,6 +1329,7 @@ tests_testUfs_LDADD = \
 	mem/libmem.la \
 	store/libstore.la \
 	$(ADAPTATION_LIBS) \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	time/libtime.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
@@ -1492,6 +1495,7 @@ tests_testStore_LDADD= \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	DiskIO/libdiskio.la \
 	ipc/libipc.la \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscencoding.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscutil.la \
@@ -1668,6 +1672,7 @@ tests_testDiskIO_LDADD = \
 	dns/libdns.la \
 	base/libbase.la \
 	mem/libmem.la \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscencoding.la \
@@ -1720,6 +1725,7 @@ tests_testACLMaxUserIP_LDADD = \
 	acl/libacls.la \
 	SquidConfig.o \
 	ip/libip.la \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	parser/libparser.la \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	base/libbase.la \
@@ -1973,6 +1979,7 @@ tests_test_http_range_LDADD = \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	debug/libdebug.la \
 	store/libstore.la \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	$(SNMP_LIBS) \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscencoding.la \
@@ -2131,6 +2138,7 @@ tests_testHttpReply_LDADD=\
 	ip/libip.la \
 	base/libbase.la \
 	ipc/libipc.la \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscencoding.la \
@@ -2363,6 +2371,7 @@ tests_testHttpRequest_LDADD = \
 	$(REPL_OBJS) \
 	$(ADAPTATION_LIBS) \
 	$(ESI_LIBS) \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmisccontainers.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscencoding.la \
 	$(top_builddir)/lib/libmiscutil.la \
@@ -2635,7 +2644,6 @@ tests_testCacheManager_LDADD = \
 	helper/libhelper.la \
 	http/libhttp.la \
 	proxyp/libproxyp.la \
-	parser/libparser.la \
 	ident/libident.la \
 	acl/libacls.la \
 	acl/libstate.la \
@@ -2660,6 +2668,8 @@ tests_testCacheManager_LDADD = \
 	$(SNMP_LIBS) \
 	mem/libmem.la \
 	store/libstore.la \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
+	parser/libparser.la \
 	sbuf/libsbuf.la \
 	time/libtime.la \
 	debug/libdebug.la \
@@ -2736,6 +2746,8 @@ nodist_tests_testConfigParser_SOURCES = \
 	tests/stub_libmem.cc \
 	tests/stub_neighbors.cc
 tests_testConfigParser_LDADD = \
+	configuration/libconfiguration.la \
+	parser/libparser.la \
 	base/libbase.la \
 	$(LIBCPPUNIT_LIBS) \
 	$(COMPAT_LIB) \
diff --git a/src/SquidConfig.h b/src/SquidConfig.h
index 8ac9a47b941..c187eaf32a2 100644
--- a/src/SquidConfig.h
+++ b/src/SquidConfig.h
@@ -224,7 +224,6 @@ class SquidConfig
     char *pidFilename;
     char *netdbFilename;
     char *mimeTablePathname;
-    char *etcHostsPath;
     char *visibleHostname;
     char *uniqueHostname;
     SBufList hostnameAliases;
diff --git a/src/cache_cf.cc b/src/cache_cf.cc
index fafb9867b0f..c45dcd285ef 100644
--- a/src/cache_cf.cc
+++ b/src/cache_cf.cc
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@
 #include "CpuAffinityMap.h"
 #include "debug/Messages.h"
 #include "DiskIO/DiskIOModule.h"
+#include "dns/EtcHosts.h"
 #include "eui/Config.h"
 #include "ExternalACL.h"
 #include "format/Format.h"
@@ -281,15 +282,6 @@ self_destruct(void)
     LegacyParser.destruct();
 }
 
-static void
-SetConfigFilename(char const *file_name, bool is_pipe)
-{
-    if (is_pipe)
-        cfg_filename = file_name + 1;
-    else
-        cfg_filename = file_name;
-}
-
 static const char*
 skip_ws(const char* s)
 {
@@ -330,7 +322,7 @@ parseManyConfigFiles(char* files, int depth)
 }
 
 static void
-ReplaceSubstr(char*& str, int& len, unsigned substrIdx, unsigned substrLen, const char* newSubstr)
+ReplaceSubstr(char* str, int& len, unsigned substrIdx, unsigned substrLen, const char* newSubstr)
 {
     assert(str != nullptr);
     assert(newSubstr != nullptr);
@@ -348,7 +340,7 @@ ReplaceSubstr(char*& str, int& len, unsigned substrIdx, unsigned substrLen, cons
 }
 
 static void
-SubstituteMacro(char*& line, int& len, const char* macroName, const char* substStr)
+SubstituteMacro(char* line, int& len, const char* macroName, const char* substStr)
 {
     assert(line != nullptr);
     assert(macroName != nullptr);
@@ -359,7 +351,7 @@ SubstituteMacro(char*& line, int& len, const char* macroName, const char* substS
 }
 
 static void
-ProcessMacros(char*& line, int& len)
+ProcessMacros(char* line, int& len)
 {
     SubstituteMacro(line, len, "${service_name}", service_name.c_str());
     SubstituteMacro(line, len, "${process_name}", TheKidName.c_str());
@@ -437,14 +429,9 @@ EvalBoolExpr(const char* expr)
 static int
 parseOneConfigFile(const char *file_name, unsigned int depth)
 {
-    FILE *fp = nullptr;
     const char *orig_cfg_filename = cfg_filename;
     const int orig_config_lineno = config_lineno;
-    char *token = nullptr;
-    char *tmp_line = nullptr;
-    int tmp_line_len = 0;
     int err_count = 0;
-    int is_pipe = 0;
 
     debugs(3, Important(68), "Processing Configuration File: " << file_name << " (depth " << depth << ")");
     if (depth > 16) {
@@ -452,117 +439,48 @@ parseOneConfigFile(const char *file_name, unsigned int depth)
         return 1;
     }
 
-    if (file_name[0] == '!' || file_name[0] == '|') {
-        fp = popen(file_name + 1, "r");
-        is_pipe = 1;
-    } else {
-        fp = fopen(file_name, "r");
-    }
-
-    if (!fp) {
-        int xerrno = errno;
-        fatalf("Unable to open configuration file: %s: %s", file_name, xstrerr(xerrno));
-    }
-
-#if _SQUID_WINDOWS_
-    setmode(fileno(fp), O_TEXT);
-#endif
-
-    SetConfigFilename(file_name, bool(is_pipe));
+    Configuration::File cfg(file_name);
+    cfg.load(); // throws on error
 
     memset(config_input_line, '\0', BUFSIZ);
 
-    config_lineno = 0;
-
     std::vector<bool> if_states;
-    while (fgets(config_input_line, BUFSIZ, fp)) {
-        ++config_lineno;
-
-        if ((token = strchr(config_input_line, '\n')))
-            *token = '\0';
-
-        if ((token = strchr(config_input_line, '\r')))
-            *token = '\0';
-
-        // strip any prefix whitespace off the line.
-        const char *p = skip_ws(config_input_line);
-        if (config_input_line != p)
-            memmove(config_input_line, p, strlen(p)+1);
-
-        if (strncmp(config_input_line, "#line ", 6) == 0) {
-            static char new_file_name[1024];
-            static char *file;
-            static char new_lineno;
-            token = config_input_line + 6;
-            new_lineno = strtol(token, &file, 0) - 1;
-
-            if (file == token)
-                continue;   /* Not a valid #line directive, may be a comment */
-
-            while (*file && xisspace((unsigned char) *file))
-                ++file;
-
-            if (*file) {
-                if (*file != '"')
-                    continue;   /* Not a valid #line directive, may be a comment */
-
-                xstrncpy(new_file_name, file + 1, sizeof(new_file_name));
-
-                if ((token = strchr(new_file_name, '"')))
-                    *token = '\0';
-
-                SetConfigFilename(new_file_name, false);
-            }
-
-            config_lineno = new_lineno;
-        }
-
-        if (config_input_line[0] == '#')
-            continue;
+    while (true) {
+        auto line = cfg.nextLine();
+        cfg_filename = cfg.lineInfo().fileName;
+        config_lineno = cfg.lineInfo().lineNo;
 
-        if (config_input_line[0] == '\0')
-            continue;
-
-        const char* append = tmp_line_len ? skip_ws(config_input_line) : config_input_line;
-
-        size_t append_len = strlen(append);
-
-        tmp_line = (char*)xrealloc(tmp_line, tmp_line_len + append_len + 1);
-
-        strcpy(tmp_line + tmp_line_len, append);
+        if (line.isEmpty())
+            break;
 
-        tmp_line_len += append_len;
+        assert(line.length() < BUFSIZ);
+        SBufToCstring(config_input_line, line);
+        int tmp_line_len = line.length();
 
-        if (tmp_line[tmp_line_len-1] == '\\') {
-            debugs(3, 5, "parseConfigFile: tmp_line='" << tmp_line << "'");
-            tmp_line[--tmp_line_len] = '\0';
-            continue;
-        }
+        ProcessMacros(config_input_line, tmp_line_len);
 
-        trim_trailing_ws(tmp_line);
-        ProcessMacros(tmp_line, tmp_line_len);
-        debugs(3, (opt_parse_cfg_only?1:5), "Processing: " << tmp_line);
+        debugs(3, (opt_parse_cfg_only?1:5), "Processing: " << config_input_line);
 
-        if (const char* expr = FindStatement(tmp_line, "if")) {
+        if (const char* expr = FindStatement(config_input_line, "if")) {
             if_states.push_back(EvalBoolExpr(expr)); // store last if-statement meaning
-        } else if (FindStatement(tmp_line, "endif")) {
+        } else if (FindStatement(config_input_line, "endif")) {
             if (!if_states.empty())
                 if_states.pop_back(); // remove last if-statement meaning
             else
                 fatalf("'endif' without 'if'\n");
-        } else if (FindStatement(tmp_line, "else")) {
+        } else if (FindStatement(config_input_line, "else")) {
             if (!if_states.empty())
                 if_states.back() = !if_states.back();
             else
                 fatalf("'else' without 'if'\n");
         } else if (if_states.empty() || if_states.back()) { // test last if-statement meaning if present
             /* Handle includes here */
-            if (tmp_line_len >= 9 && strncmp(tmp_line, "include", 7) == 0 && xisspace(tmp_line[7])) {
-                err_count += parseManyConfigFiles(tmp_line + 8, depth + 1);
+            if (tmp_line_len >= 9 && strncmp(config_input_line, "include", 7) == 0 && xisspace(config_input_line[7])) {
+                err_count += parseManyConfigFiles(config_input_line + 8, depth + 1);
             } else {
                 try {
-                    if (!parse_line(tmp_line)) {
-                        debugs(3, DBG_CRITICAL, ConfigParser::CurrentLocation() << ": unrecognized: '" << tmp_line << "'");
+                    if (!parse_line(config_input_line)) {
+                        debugs(3, DBG_CRITICAL, ConfigParser::CurrentLocation() << ": unrecognized: '" << config_input_line << "'");
                         ++err_count;
                     }
                 } catch (...) {
@@ -573,26 +491,14 @@ parseOneConfigFile(const char *file_name, unsigned int depth)
             }
         }
 
-        safe_free(tmp_line);
-        tmp_line_len = 0;
-
     }
+
     if (!if_states.empty())
         fatalf("if-statement without 'endif'\n");
 
-    if (is_pipe) {
-        int ret = pclose(fp);
-
-        if (ret != 0)
-            fatalf("parseConfigFile: '%s' failed with exit code %d\n", file_name, ret);
-    } else {
-        fclose(fp);
-    }
-
-    SetConfigFilename(orig_cfg_filename, false);
+    cfg_filename = orig_cfg_filename;
     config_lineno = orig_config_lineno;
 
-    xfree(tmp_line);
     return err_count;
 }
 
@@ -1456,6 +1362,28 @@ parseBytesUnits(const char *unit)
     return 0;
 }
 
+static void
+parse_SBuf(SBuf *s)
+{
+    *s = ConfigParser::NextQuotedToken();
+}
+
+static void
+dump_SBuf(StoreEntry * entry, const char *name, SBuf &s)
+{
+    if (!s.isEmpty()) {
+        entry->append(name, strlen(name));
+        entry->append(" ", 1);
+        entry->append(s.rawContent(), s.length());
+    }
+}
+
+static void
+free_SBuf(SBuf *s)
+{
+    s->clear();
+}
+
 static void
 parse_SBufList(SBufList * list)
 {
diff --git a/src/cf.data.depend b/src/cf.data.depend
index fa896248cf7..1256a26990a 100644
--- a/src/cf.data.depend
+++ b/src/cf.data.depend
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ Security::KeyLog* acl
 size_t
 IpAddress_list
 string
-string
+SBuf
 time_msec
 time_t
 time_nanoseconds
diff --git a/src/cf.data.pre b/src/cf.data.pre
index 62130996f07..8872074d669 100644
--- a/src/cf.data.pre
+++ b/src/cf.data.pre
@@ -10151,9 +10151,9 @@ DOC_START
 DOC_END
 
 NAME: hosts_file
-TYPE: string
+TYPE: SBuf
 DEFAULT: @DEFAULT_HOSTS@
-LOC: Config.etcHostsPath
+LOC: Dns::EtcHosts::Path
 DOC_START
 	Location of the host-local IP name-address associations
 	database. Most Operating Systems have such a file on different
diff --git a/src/configuration/File.cc b/src/configuration/File.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e9a0a320d07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/configuration/File.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 1996-2023 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors
+ *
+ * Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes
+ * contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.
+ * Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.
+ */
+
+#include "squid.h"
+#include "configuration/File.h"
+#include "parser/Tokenizer.h"
+#include "sbuf/Stream.h"
+
+#if HAVE_SYS_STAT_H
+#include <sys/stat.h>
+#endif
+
+Configuration::File::File(const char *path) :
+    filePath(path)
+{
+    if (filePath[0] == '!' || filePath[0] == '|') {
+        isPipe = true;
+        filePath.erase(0,1);
+    }
+}
+
+Configuration::File::~File()
+{
+    if (fd) {
+        if (isPipe)
+            pclose(fd);
+        else
+            fclose(fd);
+    }
+}
+
+void
+Configuration::File::load()
+{
+    debugs(3, 2, "Loading " << (isPipe ? "pipe" : "file") << " " << filePath);
+
+    if (isPipe && !(fd = popen(filePath.c_str(), "r")))
+        throw TextException(ToSBuf("configuration pipe : ", filePath, " not found"), lineInfo());
+
+    else if (!(fd = fopen(filePath.c_str(), "r")))
+        throw TextException(ToSBuf("configuration file : ", filePath, " not found"), lineInfo());
+
+#if _SQUID_WINDOWS_
+    setmode(fileno(fd), O_TEXT);
+#endif
+
+     // try to load the entire file into fileData
+     off_t readSz = 0;
+     while (!feof(fd) && !ferror(fd)) {
+        SBuf parseBuffer;
+        // limit at 1/2 max capacity, so we can combine two SBuf later
+        off_t len = SBuf::maxSize/2;
+        auto *p = parseBuffer.rawAppendStart(len);
+        auto n = fread(p, 1, len, fd);
+        debugs(3, 2, "Loaded " << n << " bytes (at " << readSz << ") from " << filePath);
+        if (n > 0) {
+            readSz += n;
+            parseBuffer.rawAppendFinish(p, n);
+            fileData.emplace_back(parseBuffer);
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+SBuf
+Configuration::File::nextLine()
+{
+    if (fileData.empty())
+        return SBuf();
+
+    SBuf lineBuf;
+    while (!lineBuf.isEmpty() || !fileData.empty()) {
+        auto eol = lineBuf.find('\n');
+        while (eol == SBuf::npos && !fileData.empty()) {
+            auto nextBlob = fileData.front();
+            if (lineBuf.length() + nextBlob.length() >= SBuf::maxSize)
+                throw TextException(ToSBuf("line too long at ", lineBuf.length(), " bytes"), lineInfo());
+            lineBuf.append(nextBlob);
+            debugs(3, 2, "Process chunk " << fileData.size() << " of " << filePath);
+            fileData.pop_front();
+            eol = lineBuf.find('\n');
+        }
+        lineNo++;
+
+        debugs(3, 2, "Process line " << lineNo << " of " << filePath);
+        debugs(3, 9, lineBuf);
+        ::Parser::Tokenizer tok(lineBuf.substr(0, eol));
+        lineBuf.chop(eol+1);
+
+        /// trim prefix whitespace
+        (void)tok.skipAll(CharacterSet::WSP);
+
+        /// trim CRLF terminator
+        static const CharacterSet crlf = (CharacterSet::CR + CharacterSet::LF);
+        (void)tok.skipAllTrailing(crlf);
+
+        /// if line ends with \-escape, append the next line before parsing
+        static const CharacterSet wrap("line-wrap", "\\");
+        if (tok.skipOneTrailing(wrap)) {
+            SBuf tmp = tok.remaining();
+            tmp.append(lineBuf);
+            lineBuf = tmp;
+            debugs(3, 2, "Found wrap on line " << lineNo << " of " << filePath);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        /// trim any trailing whitespace
+        (void)tok.skipAllTrailing(CharacterSet::WSP);
+
+        /// ignore ( '#' comment ) lines
+        if (tok.skip('#')) {
+            /// handle ( '#line ' 1*DIGIT ' "' filepath '"' ) syntax
+            static const SBuf ln("line");
+            if (tok.skip(ln)) {
+                (void)tok.skipAll(CharacterSet::WSP);
+                int64_t num = 0;
+                SBuf name;
+                if (tok.int64(num, 10, false) && tok.skipAll(CharacterSet::WSP) &&
+                        tok.skipOne(CharacterSet::DQUOTE) && tok.skipOneTrailing(CharacterSet::DQUOTE)) {
+                    lineNo = num;
+                    filePath = tok.remaining().toStdString();
+                    debugs(3, 2, "switch line context to " << lineInfo());
+                    continue;
+                }
+            }
+            debugs(3, 2, "Skip comment line " << lineNo << " of " << filePath);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        /// ignore empty lines
+        if (tok.atEnd()) {
+            debugs(3, 2, "Skip empty line " << lineNo << " of " << filePath);
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        // found a line. push lineBuf back onto fileData for later
+        fileData.push_front(lineBuf);
+        return tok.remaining();
+    }
+
+    return SBuf();
+}
diff --git a/src/configuration/File.h b/src/configuration/File.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0d52a3a957c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/configuration/File.h
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 1996-2023 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors
+ *
+ * Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes
+ * contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.
+ * Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.
+ */
+
+#ifndef _SQUID__SRC_CONFIGURATION_FILE_H
+#define _SQUID__SRC_CONFIGURATION_FILE_H
+
+#include "base/Here.h"
+#include "configuration/forward.h"
+#include "sbuf/SBuf.h"
+
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <string>
+
+namespace Configuration
+{
+
+/**
+ * Class used to store required information from a
+ * configuration file.
+ */
+class File
+{
+public:
+    File(const char *path);
+    ~File();
+
+    /// \return true if the configuration file is open
+    bool isOpen() const { return bool(fd); }
+
+    /// Provide the next line of configuration.
+    /// \return the next line to be parsed from this file, or if none an empty SBuf.
+    SBuf nextLine();
+
+    /// \return the configuration file name and line number being processed
+    SourceLocation lineInfo() const { return SourceLocation("parsing", filePath.c_str(), lineNo); }
+
+    /// open and load contents from the file
+    void load();
+
+private:
+    std::string filePath;
+    FILE *fd = nullptr;
+
+    /// Random-size blocks of raw file bytes, in fread(2) order.
+    /// We do not concatenate these blocks to avoid overflowing SBuf.
+    SBufList fileData;
+
+    int lineNo = 0; ///< Current line number being parsed
+
+    /// Whether this is a FIFO pipe instead of a regular file.
+    bool isPipe = false;
+};
+
+} // namespace Configuration
+
+#endif /* _SQUID__SRC_CONFIGURATION_FILE_H */
diff --git a/src/configuration/Makefile.am b/src/configuration/Makefile.am
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e80781d3a76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/configuration/Makefile.am
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+## Copyright (C) 1996-2023 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors
+##
+## Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes
+## contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.
+## Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.
+##
+
+include $(top_srcdir)/src/Common.am
+
+noinst_LTLIBRARIES = libconfiguration.la
+
+libconfiguration_la_SOURCES = \
+	File.cc \
+	File.h \
+	forward.h
diff --git a/src/configuration/forward.h b/src/configuration/forward.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0c2e5aa5565
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/configuration/forward.h
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 1996-2023 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors
+ *
+ * Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes
+ * contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.
+ * Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.
+ */
+
+#ifndef _SQUID__SRC_CONFIGURATION_FORWARD_H
+#define _SQUID__SRC_CONFIGURATION_FORWARD_H
+
+/// Squid Configuration management
+namespace Configuration
+{
+
+/**
+ * Limit to how long any given config line may be.
+ * This affects squid.conf and all included files.
+ *
+ * Behaviour when setting larger than 2KB is unknown.
+ * The config parser read mechanism can cope, but the other systems
+ * receiving the data from its buffers on such lines may not.
+ */
+#define CONFIG_LINE_LIMIT   2048
+
+class File;
+
+} // namespace Configuration
+
+#endif /* _SQUID__SRC_CONFIGURATION_FORWARD_H */
diff --git a/src/dns/EtcHosts.cc b/src/dns/EtcHosts.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..25b41946dc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/dns/EtcHosts.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 1996-2023 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors
+ *
+ * Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes
+ * contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.
+ * Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.
+ */
+
+#include "squid.h"
+#include "base/CharacterSet.h"
+#include "configuration/File.h"
+#include "dns/EtcHosts.h"
+#include "fqdncache.h"
+#include "ipcache.h"
+#include "parser/Tokenizer.h"
+#include "SquidConfig.h"
+
+DefineRunnerRegistratorIn(Dns, EtcHosts);
+
+SBuf Dns::EtcHosts::Path;
+
+void
+Dns::EtcHosts::parse()
+{
+    if (Path.isEmpty() || Path.cmp("none") == 0)
+        return;
+
+    etcHostsFile = new Configuration::File(Path.c_str());
+    etcHostsFile->load();
+
+    auto line = etcHostsFile->nextLine();
+    while (!line.isEmpty()) {
+
+        ::Parser::Tokenizer tok(line);
+
+        // field 1: IP address
+        static const auto ipChars = CharacterSet("ip",":.") + CharacterSet::HEXDIG;
+        SBuf addr;
+        if (!tok.prefix(addr, ipChars)) {
+            /* invalid address, ignore and try next line. */
+            debugs(1, DBG_IMPORTANT, "WARNING: invalid IP address at " << etcHostsFile->lineInfo());
+            line = etcHostsFile->nextLine();
+            continue;
+        }
+        debugs(1, 5, "address is '" << addr << "'");
+
+        // field 2: list of hostnames
+        SBufList hosts;
+        while (!tok.atEnd()) {
+
+            (void)tok.skipAll(CharacterSet::WSP);
+            if (tok.skip('#'))
+                break; // ignore trailing comment
+
+            static const auto hostChars = CharacterSet("host",".-_") + CharacterSet::ALPHA + CharacterSet::DIGIT;
+            SBuf hostname;
+            if (!tok.prefix(hostname, hostChars)) {
+                if (!tok.atEnd())
+                    debugs(1, DBG_IMPORTANT, "WARNING: invalid hostname at " << etcHostsFile->lineInfo());
+                break;
+            }
+
+            debugs(1, 5, "got hostname '" << hostname << "'");
+
+            // TODO: obey /etc/resolv.conf NDOTS configuration
+            /* For IPV6 addresses also check for a colon */
+            if (Config.appendDomain && hostname.find('.') != SBuf::npos && hostname.find(':') != SBuf::npos) {
+                hostname.append(Config.appendDomain);
+            }
+
+            if (ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(hostname, addr)) {
+                /* invalid address, continuing is useless */
+                hosts.clear();
+                break;
+            }
+            hosts.emplace_back(hostname);
+        }
+
+        if (!hosts.empty())
+            fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(addr, hosts);
+
+        line = etcHostsFile->nextLine();
+    }
+}
+
+void
+Dns::EtcHosts::clear()
+{
+    delete etcHostsFile;
+    etcHostsFile = nullptr;
+}
diff --git a/src/dns/EtcHosts.h b/src/dns/EtcHosts.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ae75fa38c5a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/dns/EtcHosts.h
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 1996-2023 The Squid Software Foundation and contributors
+ *
+ * Squid software is distributed under GPLv2+ license and includes
+ * contributions from numerous individuals and organizations.
+ * Please see the COPYING and CONTRIBUTORS files for details.
+ */
+
+#ifndef SQUID_SRC_DNS_ETCHOSTS_H
+#define SQUID_SRC_DNS_ETCHOSTS_H
+
+#include "base/RunnersRegistry.h"
+#include "configuration/forward.h"
+#include "dns/forward.h"
+#include "sbuf/SBuf.h"
+
+namespace Dns
+{
+
+/// specialized parser for /etc/hosts file
+class EtcHosts : public RegisteredRunner
+{
+public:
+    /// squid.conf etc_hosts setting (if any)
+    static SBuf Path;
+
+    ~EtcHosts() { clear(); }
+
+    /* RegisteredRunner API */
+    void finalizeConfig() override { parse(); }
+    void startReconfigure() override { clear(); }
+    void syncConfig() override { parse(); }
+
+private:
+    void parse();
+    void clear();
+
+    Configuration::File *etcHostsFile = nullptr;
+};
+
+} // namespace Dns
+
+#endif /* SQUID_SRC_DNS_ETCHOSTS_H */
diff --git a/src/dns/Makefile.am b/src/dns/Makefile.am
index b5e4df89a18..d7eb5c5e47a 100644
--- a/src/dns/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/dns/Makefile.am
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ include $(top_srcdir)/src/Common.am
 noinst_LTLIBRARIES = libdns.la
 
 libdns_la_SOURCES = \
+	EtcHosts.cc \
+	EtcHosts.h \
 	LookupDetails.cc \
 	LookupDetails.h \
 	forward.h \
diff --git a/src/dns/forward.h b/src/dns/forward.h
index 0a0f57f804c..29a6e245dbc 100644
--- a/src/dns/forward.h
+++ b/src/dns/forward.h
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ typedef void IDNSCB(void *cbdata, const rfc1035_rr *answer, const int recordsInA
 namespace Dns
 {
 
+class EtcHosts;
 class LookupDetails;
 
 void Init(void);
diff --git a/src/fqdncache.cc b/src/fqdncache.cc
index 78670fb2352..d74a8bf92d7 100644
--- a/src/fqdncache.cc
+++ b/src/fqdncache.cc
@@ -633,9 +633,9 @@ fqdncache_restart(void)
  \param hostnames   list of hostnames for the addr
  */
 void
-fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(char *addr, SBufList &hostnames)
+fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(SBuf &addr, SBufList &hostnames)
 {
-    fqdncache_entry *fce= fqdncache_get(addr);
+    auto *fce = fqdncache_get(addr.c_str());
     if (fce) {
         if (1 == fce->flags.fromhosts) {
             fqdncacheUnlockEntry(fce);
@@ -647,11 +647,11 @@ fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(char *addr, SBufList &hostnames)
         }
     }
 
-    fce = new fqdncache_entry(addr);
+    fce = new fqdncache_entry(addr.c_str());
 
     int j = 0;
     for (auto &h : hostnames) {
-        fce->names[j] = xstrdup(h.c_str());
+        fce->names[j] = SBufToCstring(h);
         Tolower(fce->names[j]);
         ++j;
 
diff --git a/src/fqdncache.h b/src/fqdncache.h
index 262c8997a1c..122736b2ca4 100644
--- a/src/fqdncache.h
+++ b/src/fqdncache.h
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ void fqdncache_init(void);
 void fqdnStats(StoreEntry *);
 void fqdncache_restart(void);
 void fqdncache_purgelru(void *);
-void fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(char *addr, SBufList &hostnames);
+void fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(SBuf &addr, SBufList &hostnames);
 
 const char *fqdncache_gethostbyaddr(const Ip::Address &, int flags);
 void fqdncache_nbgethostbyaddr(const Ip::Address &, FQDNH *, void *);
diff --git a/src/ipcache.cc b/src/ipcache.cc
index 05eba860c39..4107b6a4411 100644
--- a/src/ipcache.cc
+++ b/src/ipcache.cc
@@ -1119,48 +1119,44 @@ ipcache_restart(void)
  \param name    Hostname to be linked with IP
  \param ipaddr  IP Address to be cached.
  *
- \retval 0  Success.
- \retval 1  IP address is invalid or other error.
+ \retval true  Success.
+ \retval false  IP address is invalid or other error.
  */
-int
-ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(const char *name, const char *ipaddr)
+bool
+ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(SBuf &name, SBuf &ipaddr)
 {
-    ipcache_entry *i;
-
     Ip::Address ip;
 
-    if (!(ip = ipaddr)) {
-        if (strchr(ipaddr, ':') && strspn(ipaddr, "0123456789abcdefABCDEF:") == strlen(ipaddr)) {
-            debugs(14, 3, "ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts: Skipping IPv6 address '" << ipaddr << "'");
-        } else {
-            debugs(14, DBG_IMPORTANT, "ERROR: ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts: Bad IP address '" << ipaddr << "'");
-        }
+    if (!(ip = ipaddr.c_str())) {
+        if (ipaddr.find(':') != SBuf::npos)
+            debugs(14, 3, "skipping IPv6 address: " << ipaddr);
+        else
+            debugs(14, DBG_IMPORTANT, "ERROR: Bad IP address '" << ipaddr << "'");
 
-        return 1;
+        return false;
     }
 
     if (!Ip::EnableIpv6 && ip.isIPv6()) {
         debugs(14, 2, "skips IPv6 address in /etc/hosts because IPv6 support was disabled: " << ip);
-        return 1;
+        return false;
     }
 
-    if ((i = ipcache_get(name))) {
-        if (1 == i->flags.fromhosts) {
+    if (auto *i = ipcache_get(name.c_str())) {
+        if (1 == i->flags.fromhosts)
             ipcacheUnlockEntry(i);
-        } else if (i->locks > 0) {
-            debugs(14, DBG_IMPORTANT, "ERROR: ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts: cannot add static entry for locked name '" << name << "'");
-            return 1;
-        } else {
+        else if (i->locks > 0) {
+            debugs(14, DBG_IMPORTANT, "ERROR: cannot add static entry for locked name '" << name << "'");
+            return false;
+        } else
             ipcacheRelease(i);
-        }
     }
 
-    i = new ipcache_entry(name);
+    auto *i = new ipcache_entry(name.c_str());
     i->addrs.pushUnique(ip);
     i->flags.fromhosts = true;
     ipcacheAddEntry(i);
     ipcacheLockEntry(i);
-    return 0;
+    return true;
 }
 
 #if SQUID_SNMP
diff --git a/src/ipcache.h b/src/ipcache.h
index 4e5d969d298..08622cb9526 100644
--- a/src/ipcache.h
+++ b/src/ipcache.h
@@ -235,7 +235,7 @@ void ipcache_init(void);
 void ipcacheMarkBadAddr(const char *name, const Ip::Address &);
 void ipcacheMarkGoodAddr(const char *name, const Ip::Address &);
 void ipcache_restart(void);
-int ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(const char *name, const char *ipaddr);
+bool ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(SBuf &name, SBuf &ipaddr);
 
 /* inlined implementations */
 
diff --git a/src/main.cc b/src/main.cc
index 51859775035..20d96a8dde5 100644
--- a/src/main.cc
+++ b/src/main.cc
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@
 #include "CpuAffinity.h"
 #include "debug/Messages.h"
 #include "DiskIO/DiskIOModule.h"
-#include "dns/forward.h"
+#include "dns/EtcHosts.h"
 #include "errorpage.h"
 #include "event.h"
 #include "EventLoop.h"
@@ -928,7 +928,6 @@ mainReconfigureFinish(void *)
     Debug::UseCacheLog();
     ipcache_restart();      /* clear stuck entries */
     fqdncache_restart();    /* sigh, fqdncache too */
-    parseEtcHosts();
     errorInitialize();      /* reload error pages */
     accessLogInit();
 
@@ -1146,8 +1145,6 @@ mainInitialize(void)
 
     fqdncache_init();
 
-    parseEtcHosts();
-
     Dns::Init();
 
 #if USE_SSL_CRTD
@@ -1455,6 +1452,7 @@ RegisterModules()
     CallRunnerRegistrator(SharedSessionCacheRr);
     CallRunnerRegistrator(TransientsRr);
     CallRunnerRegistratorIn(Dns, ConfigRr);
+    CallRunnerRegistratorIn(Dns, EtcHosts);
 
 #if HAVE_DISKIO_MODULE_IPCIO
     CallRunnerRegistrator(IpcIoRr);
diff --git a/src/tests/stub_fqdncache.cc b/src/tests/stub_fqdncache.cc
index cf46779dc65..d236e653571 100644
--- a/src/tests/stub_fqdncache.cc
+++ b/src/tests/stub_fqdncache.cc
@@ -18,6 +18,6 @@ void fqdncache_init(void) STUB
 void fqdnStats(StoreEntry *) STUB
 void fqdncache_restart(void) STUB
 void fqdncache_purgelru(void *) STUB
-void fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(char *, SBufList &) STUB
+void fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(SBuf &, SBufList &) STUB
 const char *fqdncache_gethostbyaddr(const Ip::Address &, int) STUB_RETVAL(nullptr)
 void fqdncache_nbgethostbyaddr(const Ip::Address &, FQDNH *, void *) STUB
diff --git a/src/tests/stub_ipcache.cc b/src/tests/stub_ipcache.cc
index d83699b0f68..65dabf686fc 100644
--- a/src/tests/stub_ipcache.cc
+++ b/src/tests/stub_ipcache.cc
@@ -21,5 +21,5 @@ void ipcache_init(void) STUB
 void ipcacheMarkBadAddr(const char *, const Ip::Address &) STUB
 void ipcacheMarkGoodAddr(const char *, const Ip::Address &) STUB
 void ipcache_restart(void) STUB
-int ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(const char *, const char *) STUB_RETVAL(-1)
+bool ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(SBuf &, SBuf &) STUB_RETVAL(-1)
 
diff --git a/src/tests/stub_tools.cc b/src/tests/stub_tools.cc
index 338de5053ce..aee3fbaa57c 100644
--- a/src/tests/stub_tools.cc
+++ b/src/tests/stub_tools.cc
@@ -64,7 +64,6 @@ void setSystemLimits(void) STUB
 void squid_signal(int, SIGHDLR *, int) STUB
 void logsFlush(void) STUB
 void debugObj(int, int, const char *, void *, ObjPackMethod) STUB
-void parseEtcHosts(void) STUB
 int getMyPort(void) STUB_RETVAL(0)
 void setUmask(mode_t) STUB
 void strwordquote(MemBuf *, const char *) STUB
diff --git a/src/tools.cc b/src/tools.cc
index ae3eb0a5d83..35c2b24253a 100644
--- a/src/tools.cc
+++ b/src/tools.cc
@@ -945,98 +945,6 @@ debugObj(int section, int level, const char *label, void *obj, ObjPackMethod pm)
     mb.clean();
 }
 
-void
-parseEtcHosts(void)
-{
-    char buf[1024];
-    char buf2[512];
-    char *nt = buf;
-    char *lt = buf;
-
-    if (!Config.etcHostsPath)
-        return;
-
-    if (0 == strcmp(Config.etcHostsPath, "none"))
-        return;
-
-    FILE *fp = fopen(Config.etcHostsPath, "r");
-
-    if (!fp) {
-        int xerrno = errno;
-        debugs(1, DBG_IMPORTANT, "parseEtcHosts: '" << Config.etcHostsPath << "' : " << xstrerr(xerrno));
-        return;
-    }
-
-#if _SQUID_WINDOWS_
-    setmode(fileno(fp), O_TEXT);
-#endif
-
-    while (fgets(buf, 1024, fp)) {  /* for each line */
-
-        if (buf[0] == '#')  /* MS-windows likes to add comments */
-            continue;
-
-        strtok(buf, "#");   /* chop everything following a comment marker */
-
-        lt = buf;
-
-        char *addr = buf;
-
-        debugs(1, 5, "etc_hosts: line is '" << buf << "'");
-
-        nt = strpbrk(lt, w_space);
-
-        if (nt == nullptr)     /* empty line */
-            continue;
-
-        *nt = '\0';     /* null-terminate the address */
-
-        debugs(1, 5, "etc_hosts: address is '" << addr << "'");
-
-        lt = nt + 1;
-
-        SBufList hosts;
-
-        while ((nt = strpbrk(lt, w_space))) {
-            char *host = nullptr;
-
-            if (nt == lt) { /* multiple spaces */
-                debugs(1, 5, "etc_hosts: multiple spaces, skipping");
-                lt = nt + 1;
-                continue;
-            }
-
-            *nt = '\0';
-            debugs(1, 5, "etc_hosts: got hostname '" << lt << "'");
-
-            /* For IPV6 addresses also check for a colon */
-            if (Config.appendDomain && !strchr(lt, '.') && !strchr(lt, ':')) {
-                /* I know it's ugly, but it's only at reconfig */
-                strncpy(buf2, lt, sizeof(buf2)-1);
-                strncat(buf2, Config.appendDomain, sizeof(buf2) - strlen(lt) - 1);
-                buf2[sizeof(buf2)-1] = '\0';
-                host = buf2;
-            } else {
-                host = lt;
-            }
-
-            if (ipcacheAddEntryFromHosts(host, addr) != 0) {
-                /* invalid address, continuing is useless */
-                hosts.clear();
-                break;
-            }
-            hosts.emplace_back(SBuf(host));
-
-            lt = nt + 1;
-        }
-
-        if (!hosts.empty())
-            fqdncacheAddEntryFromHosts(addr, hosts);
-    }
-
-    fclose (fp);
-}
-
 int
 getMyPort(void)
 {
diff --git a/src/tools.h b/src/tools.h
index f3c808a6ee0..413ae1f0527 100644
--- a/src/tools.h
+++ b/src/tools.h
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ extern int DebugSignal;
 /// Default is APP_SHORTNAME ('squid').
 extern SBuf service_name;
 
-void parseEtcHosts(void);
 int getMyPort(void);
 void setUmask(mode_t mask);
 void strwordquote(MemBuf * mb, const char *str);