# Custom Domain

A custom domain serves your Dewstack workspace from an address you own – `docs.acme.com` instead of `acme.dewstack.com`. You point a CNAME record at `custom.dewstack.com`, enter the domain in **Settings → Hosting & Visibility**, and Dewstack verifies the record before saving it. The feature requires a paid plan or an active trial.

You can connect a top-level domain such as `acme.com` or a subdomain such as `docs.acme.com`. You cannot connect a subdirectory like `acme.com/docs` – a CNAME points at a host, not a path.

## Point a CNAME record at Dewstack

1.  Sign in to the DNS control panel at your domain registrar or DNS provider.
2.  Add a **CNAME** record for the hostname you want to use – for example `docs` – with the target `custom.dewstack.com`.
3.  Save the record and wait for it to propagate. This is usually minutes but can take up to 48 hours.
4.  In Dewstack, open the workspace and go to **Settings → Hosting & Visibility**, then scroll to the **Custom Domain** card.
5.  Type the domain exactly as readers will see it, without `http://` or `https://` – the field's placeholder is `E.g. docs.your-domain.com`.
6.  Click **Verify & Save**.

![The Custom Domain card in Hosting & Visibility with a domain typed into the field](https://res.cloudinary.com/dstack/image/upload/v1785146521/blob_if76hn.png)

Add the CNAME at your DNS provider before saving here, or verification fails and you have to come back.

A CNAME cannot coexist with another record of the same name. If the hostname already has an A, AAAA, TXT or other record, delete those first.

## What Verify & Save does

Dewstack looks up the CNAME for the domain you entered and checks that it resolves to `custom.dewstack.com`. On success you get **"Custom Domain is configured successfully."**, the domain is registered with Dewstack's hosting layer, and a TLS certificate is issued for it automatically – there is nothing to upload and no certificate to renew. HTTPS usually starts working within a few minutes of the domain being registered.

Two failures are worth knowing:

*   **"CNAME record is not configured yet or is incorrect in your DNS. Please recheck and verify again."** – the lookup did not find the expected record. Nine times out of ten this is DNS propagation, not a mistake: the record is correct but the resolver Dewstack used has not seen it yet. Wait and click **Verify & Save** again rather than editing the record.
*   **"This domain is already associated with a space. Please choose a different domain and retry."** – another workspace has claimed that exact domain. Remove it there first.

Cloudflare users: turn the proxy off

If your DNS is on Cloudflare, set the record's **Proxy status** to **DNS only** – the grey cloud, not the orange one. Proxying hides the real CNAME target, so verification fails and your docs site may not serve correctly afterwards.

## Remove a custom domain

Once a domain is saved, the field is read-only and the button becomes **Remove**. Clicking it unregisters the domain and confirms with **"Custom Domain is removed successfully."** Your docs stay reachable at the `*.dewstack.com` subdomain, which never goes away. Delete the CNAME record at your DNS provider afterwards so the hostname does not dangle.

To connect a different domain, remove the current one first – a workspace holds one custom domain at a time.

## Limits and plan requirements

*   **Custom Domain requires a paid plan or an active trial.** Without one the card shows a padlock and the tooltip _"Please upgrade to access this feature."_
*   One custom domain per workspace.
*   Team members need the _Hosting Workspace_ permission to open **Hosting & Visibility**. Owners and Admins have it; Creators and Editors do not.

If a domain still will not verify after 48 hours, contact [support@dewstack.com](mailto:support@dewstack.com) with the domain name and the CNAME record you added.

## Related

 [SEO, cookies and the badge Meta tags, indexing, cookie box, "Made with Dewstack".](/docs/customize/seo-and-cookies)   [Customize your docs site Every reader-facing setting, in one page.](/docs/customize/customize-your-docs-site)