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### 4.8 Selecting a default host

When host name is omitted, TRAMP substitutes the value from the `tramp-default-host` variable. It is initially populated with the local hostname where Emacs is running. Both the default user and default host can be overridden as follows:

    (setq tramp-default-user "john"
          tramp-default-host "target")

With both defaults set, ‘`/ssh::`’ will connect TRAMP to John’s home directory on target.

Note ‘`/::`’ won’t work, because ‘`/:`’ is the prefix for quoted file names.

Instead of a single default host, `tramp-default-host-alist` allows multiple default host values based on access method or user name combinations. The alist can hold multiple values. While `tramp-default-host` is sufficient in most cases, some methods, like `adb`, require defaults overwritten.

See the documentation for the variable `tramp-default-host-alist` for more details.