diff --git a/README.rdoc b/README.rdoc
index 0d5686f..a9a0255 100644
--- a/README.rdoc
+++ b/README.rdoc
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ CouchRest install, from the project root directory run `rake`, or `autotest`
 Quick Start:
 
     # with !, it creates the database if it doesn't already exist
-    @db = CouchRest.database!("http://localhost:5984/couchrest-test")
+    @db = CouchRest.database!("http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-test")
     response = @db.save({:key => 'value', 'another key' => 'another value'})
     doc = @db.get(response['id'])
     puts doc.inspect
diff --git a/examples/word_count/markov b/examples/word_count/markov
index af7465e..b873f3e 100755
--- a/examples/word_count/markov
+++ b/examples/word_count/markov
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 require File.expand_path(File.dirname(__FILE__)) + '/../../couchrest'
 
-cr = CouchRest.new("http://localhost:5984")
+cr = CouchRest.new("http://127.0.0.1:5984")
 @db = cr.database('word-count-example')
 @word_memoizer = {}
 
diff --git a/examples/word_count/word_count.rb b/examples/word_count/word_count.rb
index 36c1351..f0321ae 100644
--- a/examples/word_count/word_count.rb
+++ b/examples/word_count/word_count.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../couchrest'
 
-couch = CouchRest.new("http://localhost:5984")
+couch = CouchRest.new("http://127.0.0.1:5984")
 db = couch.database('word-count-example')
 db.delete! rescue nil
 db = couch.create_db('word-count-example')
@@ -62,6 +62,6 @@ end
 #   }
 # })
 
-# puts "The books have been stored in your CouchDB. To initiate the MapReduce process, visit http://localhost:5984/_utils/ in your browser and click 'word-count-example', then select view 'words' or 'count'. The process could take about 15 minutes on an average MacBook."
+# puts "The books have been stored in your CouchDB. To initiate the MapReduce process, visit http://127.0.0.1:5984/_utils/ in your browser and click 'word-count-example', then select view 'words' or 'count'. The process could take about 15 minutes on an average MacBook."
 # 
 
diff --git a/examples/word_count/word_count_query.rb b/examples/word_count/word_count_query.rb
index 31a0222..e69b99a 100644
--- a/examples/word_count/word_count_query.rb
+++ b/examples/word_count/word_count_query.rb
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../couchrest'
 
-couch = CouchRest.new("http://localhost:5984")
+couch = CouchRest.new("http://127.0.0.1:5984")
 db = couch.database('word-count-example')
 
 puts "Now that we've parsed all those books into CouchDB, the queries we can run are incredibly flexible."
@@ -35,5 +35,5 @@ puts "\nHere are the params for 'flight' in the da-vinci book:"
 puts params.inspect
 puts
 puts 'The url looks like this:'
-puts 'http://localhost:5984/word-count-example/_view/word_count/count?key=["flight","da-vinci"]'
+puts 'http://127.0.0.1:5984/word-count-example/_view/word_count/count?key=["flight","da-vinci"]'
 puts "\nTry dropping that in your browser..."
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/couchrest.rb b/lib/couchrest.rb
index cff840f..1dc3581 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest.rb
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ module CouchRest
       db = nil if db && db.empty?
 
       {
-        :host => host || "localhost:5984",
+        :host => host || "127.0.0.1:5984",
         :database => db,
         :doc => docid
       }
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/commands/push.rb b/lib/couchrest/commands/push.rb
index 651df6c..a1b624f 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/commands/push.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/commands/push.rb
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ module CouchRest
         foo-project/bar-views/my-design/viewname-reduce.js
         foo-project/bar-views/my-design/noreduce-map.js
 
-        Pushed to => http://localhost:5984/baz-database/_design/my-design
+        Pushed to => http://127.0.0.1:5984/baz-database/_design/my-design
 
         And the design document:
         {
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/core/model.rb b/lib/couchrest/core/model.rb
index 0fccb27..0d55ec8 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/core/model.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/core/model.rb
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ module CouchRest
   # than this example.
   #    
   #   class Article < CouchRest::Model
-  #     use_database CouchRest.database!('http://localhost:5984/couchrest-model-test')
+  #     use_database CouchRest.database!('http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-model-test')
   #     unique_id :slug
   #
   #     view_by :date, :descending => true
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/core/server.rb b/lib/couchrest/core/server.rb
index 3e62ee2..e76ab82 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/core/server.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/core/server.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 module CouchRest
   class Server
     attr_accessor :uri, :uuid_batch_count
-    def initialize server = 'http://localhost:5984', uuid_batch_count = 1000
+    def initialize server = 'http://127.0.0.1:5984', uuid_batch_count = 1000
       @uri = server
       @uuid_batch_count = uuid_batch_count
     end
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/helper/file_manager.rb b/lib/couchrest/helper/file_manager.rb
index 6e02fd8..946f96c 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/helper/file_manager.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/helper/file_manager.rb
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ module CouchRest
       "css"   => "text/css",
       "js"    => "test/javascript"
     }    
-    def initialize(dbname, host="http://localhost:5984")
+    def initialize(dbname, host="http://127.0.0.1:5984")
       @db = CouchRest.new(host).database(dbname)
     end
     
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/core/couchrest_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/core/couchrest_spec.rb
index 1d4499d..f802e2d 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/core/couchrest_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/core/couchrest_spec.rb
@@ -46,48 +46,48 @@ describe CouchRest do
     it "should parse just a dbname" do
       db = CouchRest.parse "my-db"
       db[:database].should == "my-db"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost:5984"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1:5984"
     end
     it "should parse a host and db" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "localhost/my-db"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "127.0.0.1/my-db"
       db[:database].should == "my-db"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1"
     end
     it "should parse a host and db with http" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "http://localhost/my-db"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "http://127.0.0.1/my-db"
       db[:database].should == "my-db"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1"
     end
     it "should parse a host with a port and db" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "localhost:5555/my-db"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "127.0.0.1:5555/my-db"
       db[:database].should == "my-db"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost:5555"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1:5555"
     end
     it "should parse a host with a port and db with http" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "http://localhost:5555/my-db"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "http://127.0.0.1:5555/my-db"
       db[:database].should == "my-db"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost:5555"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1:5555"
     end
     it "should parse just a host" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "http://localhost:5555/"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "http://127.0.0.1:5555/"
       db[:database].should be_nil
-      db[:host].should == "localhost:5555"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1:5555"
     end
     it "should parse just a host no slash" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "http://localhost:5555"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost:5555"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "http://127.0.0.1:5555"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1:5555"
       db[:database].should be_nil
     end
     it "should get docid" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "localhost:5555/my-db/my-doc"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "127.0.0.1:5555/my-db/my-doc"
       db[:database].should == "my-db"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost:5555"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1:5555"
       db[:doc].should == "my-doc"
     end
     it "should get docid with http" do
-      db = CouchRest.parse "http://localhost:5555/my-db/my-doc"
+      db = CouchRest.parse "http://127.0.0.1:5555/my-db/my-doc"
       db[:database].should == "my-db"
-      db[:host].should == "localhost:5555"
+      db[:host].should == "127.0.0.1:5555"
       db[:doc].should == "my-doc"
     end
 
@@ -137,24 +137,24 @@ describe CouchRest do
 
   describe "easy initializing a database adapter" do
     it "should be possible without an explicit CouchRest instantiation" do
-      db = CouchRest.database "http://localhost:5984/couchrest-test"
+      db = CouchRest.database "http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-test"
       db.should be_an_instance_of(CouchRest::Database)
-      db.host.should == "localhost:5984"
+      db.host.should == "127.0.0.1:5984"
     end
     # TODO add https support (need test environment...)
     # it "should work with https" # do
-    #      db = CouchRest.database "https://localhost:5984/couchrest-test"
-    #      db.host.should == "https://localhost:5984"
+    #      db = CouchRest.database "https://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-test"
+    #      db.host.should == "https://127.0.0.1:5984"
     #    end
     it "should not create the database automatically" do
-      db = CouchRest.database "http://localhost:5984/couchrest-test"
+      db = CouchRest.database "http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-test"
       lambda{db.info}.should raise_error(RestClient::ResourceNotFound)      
     end
   end
 
   describe "ensuring the db exists" do
     it "should be super easy" do
-      db = CouchRest.database! "http://localhost:5984/couchrest-test-2"
+      db = CouchRest.database! "http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-test-2"
       db.name.should == 'couchrest-test-2'
       db.info["db_name"].should == 'couchrest-test-2'
     end
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/core/database_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/core/database_spec.rb
index 5fb2e70..5eebf91 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/core/database_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/core/database_spec.rb
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ describe CouchRest::Database do
       
       docs = [{'key' => 'value'}, {'_id' => 'totally-uniq'}]
       id_docs = [{'key' => 'value', '_id' => 'asdf6sgadkfhgsdfusdf'}, {'_id' => 'totally-uniq'}]
-      CouchRest.should_receive(:post).with("http://localhost:5984/couchrest-test/_bulk_docs", {:docs => id_docs})
+      CouchRest.should_receive(:post).with("http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-test/_bulk_docs", {:docs => id_docs})
       
       @db.bulk_save(docs)
     end
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/core/model_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/core/model_spec.rb
index 466b850..f9c9d47 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/core/model_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/core/model_spec.rb
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ class Course < CouchRest::Model
 end
 
 class Article < CouchRest::Model
-  use_database CouchRest.database!('http://localhost:5984/couchrest-model-test')
+  use_database CouchRest.database!('http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-model-test')
   unique_id :slug
   
   view_by :date, :descending => true
@@ -106,8 +106,8 @@ describe CouchRest::Model do
     @db = @cr.create_db(TESTDB) rescue nil
     @adb = @cr.database('couchrest-model-test')
     @adb.delete! rescue nil
-    CouchRest.database!('http://localhost:5984/couchrest-model-test')
-    CouchRest::Model.default_database = CouchRest.database!('http://localhost:5984/couchrest-test')
+    CouchRest.database!('http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-model-test')
+    CouchRest::Model.default_database = CouchRest.database!('http://127.0.0.1:5984/couchrest-test')
   end
   
   it "should use the default database" do
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/helpers/file_manager_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/helpers/file_manager_spec.rb
index 7e6d4db..ced4c5e 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/helpers/file_manager_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/helpers/file_manager_spec.rb
@@ -15,12 +15,12 @@ describe CouchRest::FileManager do
     lambda{CouchRest::FileManager.new}.should raise_error
   end
   it "should accept a db name" do
-    @fm = CouchRest::FileManager.new(TESTDB, 'http://localhost')
+    @fm = CouchRest::FileManager.new(TESTDB, 'http://127.0.0.1')
     @fm.db.name.should == TESTDB
   end
-  it "should default to localhost couchdb" do
+  it "should default to 127.0.0.1 couchdb" do
     @fm = CouchRest::FileManager.new(TESTDB)
-    @fm.db.host.should == 'http://localhost:5984'
+    @fm.db.host.should == 'http://127.0.0.1:5984'
   end
 end
 
diff --git a/spec/spec_helper.rb b/spec/spec_helper.rb
index c6ff9c4..f9d548c 100644
--- a/spec/spec_helper.rb
+++ b/spec/spec_helper.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../lib/couchrest'
 
 FIXTURE_PATH = File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/fixtures'
 
-COUCHHOST = "http://localhost:5984"
+COUCHHOST = "http://127.0.0.1:5984"
 TESTDB = 'couchrest-test'
 
 def reset_test_db!
diff --git a/utils/remap.rb b/utils/remap.rb
index f42c5d5..131aeb3 100644
--- a/utils/remap.rb
+++ b/utils/remap.rb
@@ -2,11 +2,11 @@ require 'rubygems'
 require 'couchrest'
 
 # set the source db and map view
-source = CouchRest.new("http://localhost:5984").database('source-db')
+source = CouchRest.new("http://127.0.0.1:5984").database('source-db')
 source_view = 'mydesign/view-map'
 
 # set the target db
-target = CouchRest.new("http://localhost:5984").database('target-db')
+target = CouchRest.new("http://127.0.0.1:5984").database('target-db')
 
 
 pager = CouchRest::Pager.new(source)
diff --git a/utils/subset.rb b/utils/subset.rb
index dd5d2e7..0b7adb9 100644
--- a/utils/subset.rb
+++ b/utils/subset.rb
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ require 'couchrest'
 # use it to create a smaller dataset on which to prototype views.
 
 # specify the source database
-source = CouchRest.new("http://localhost:5984").database('source-db')
+source = CouchRest.new("http://127.0.0.1:5984").database('source-db')
 
 # specify the target database
-target = CouchRest.new("http://localhost:5984").database('target-db')
+target = CouchRest.new("http://127.0.0.1:5984").database('target-db')
 
 # pager efficiently yields all view rows
 pager = CouchRest::Pager.new(source)