50 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
50 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: default
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title: DNS Providers
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description: A plain-language guide to why theta42/proxy needs a DNS provider, and only for wildcard certificates.
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---
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# DNS Providers
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This page explains, in plain language, what a "DNS provider" is for in this
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app and when you actually need one. For setup steps, see
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[Installation](installation.html).
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## Do you need this at all?
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**Only if you want a [wildcard host](concepts-hosts.html)** (something like
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`*.example.com` covering every subdomain with one certificate). A normal,
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single-name host doesn't need a DNS provider configured at all — skip this
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page entirely if that's all you're setting up.
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## Why a wildcard cert needs this extra step
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To prove you actually own `example.com` before issuing a certificate that
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covers *every* possible subdomain of it, Let's Encrypt needs to see a
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specific, temporary DNS record appear on that domain — something only the
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real owner of the domain could add. A normal single-host certificate
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doesn't need this because it can prove ownership a simpler way (by
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responding to a web request instead).
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So: to get a wildcard certificate, this app needs to be able to add (and
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later remove) that one temporary DNS record on your domain automatically,
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which means it needs your domain registrar or DNS host's API credentials —
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that's what registering a **DNS provider** here does.
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## What you're actually giving it access to
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A DNS provider entry only needs enough access to add/remove TXT records —
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it's not given your registrar account's full login, and it can't do
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anything to your domain besides that one narrow task (and, for some
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providers, keeping a dynamic A record updated if you use that feature
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separately). Check your specific provider's page in the
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[Installation guide](installation.html) for exactly what kind of
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credential to generate and how narrowly you can scope it.
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## Want more detail?
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For exact setup steps per provider (Cloudflare, DigitalOcean, Porkbun,
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DuckDNS, etc.), see [Installation](installation.html).
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[← Back to Home](index.html)
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