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Connect a custom domain

Replace the default yourname.krexel.app subdomain with your own domain. Works with any DNS provider — GoDaddy, Cloudflare, Namecheap, Google Domains, Route 53, Porkbun, etc.

Overview

The flow is the same regardless of where you bought your domain:

  1. Tell Krexel the domain you want to use (e.g. yourname.com)
  2. Add a DNS record at your registrar pointing the domain to Krexel
  3. Wait for verification — usually under 5 minutes
  4. SSL certificate is provisioned automatically

Step 1 — Add the domain in Krexel

From the CLI:

krexel domains add yourname.com

Or in the dashboard: go to krexel.com/domains and click Add domain.

You'll see a screen showing the DNS records you need to add. The exact values depend on what kind of domain you're connecting:

Apex domain (yourname.com)

Add two A records and one CAA record:

TypeNameValueTTL
A@198.51.100.42300
A@198.51.100.43300
CAA@0 issue "letsencrypt.org"300

(The two A record IPs are Cloudflare's anycast addresses. The CAA record restricts who can issue SSL for your domain.)

Subdomain (www.yourname.com or blog.yourname.com)

Add one CNAME record:

TypeNameValueTTL
CNAMEwwwkrexel-edge.pages.dev300

Replace krexel-edge with whatever subdomain you chose.

Both apex AND www

You'll need all of the above.

Step 2 — Add the DNS records at your registrar

Pick your provider for exact steps:

Step 3 — Verify

From the CLI:

krexel domains verify yourname.com

This checks DNS resolution and SSL certificate status. You'll see one of:

  • ✓ Verified — domain is live — done!
  • ⚠ DNS not propagating — try again in 5 minutes
  • ✗ DNS records don't match — check the values

Or in the dashboard: the domain row will go from "Pending" to "Verified" automatically (refreshes every 30 seconds).

Step 4 — Set as primary (optional)

If you connected yourname.com (apex) but want visitors to see www.yourname.com, set the redirect:

krexel domains set-primary yourname.com

This redirects yourname.com → www.yourname.com (or vice versa).

SSL certificates

SSL is automatic. As soon as DNS resolves correctly, Krexel provisions a Let's Encrypt certificate and serves HTTPS.

The first certificate takes 1-2 minutes to issue. Renewals happen automatically every 60 days.

You don't need to do anything with your registrar's SSL settings.

Time-to-live (TTL)

The recommended TTL is 300 seconds (5 minutes). This means if you ever need to change your DNS records, the change propagates within 5 minutes globally.

Some registrars default to 3600 (1 hour) or 86400 (24 hours). Lower it to 300 before making DNS changes for fast iteration.

Wildcard subdomains

Want *.yourname.com to all serve the same site? Add a wildcard CNAME:

TypeNameValueTTL
CNAME*.yourname.comkrexel-edge.pages.dev300

Contact us at support@krexel.com to enable wildcard handling for your account (it's a paid add-on for the Pro tier and above).

Multiple domains on one site

Want yourname.com AND yourname.io to both point to the same site?

krexel domains add yourname.com
krexel domains add yourname.io

Each domain adds DNS records at its respective registrar, but they all serve the same site content.

Removing a domain

krexel domains remove yourname.com

This only removes the Krexel side of the connection. You also need to delete the DNS records at your registrar, otherwise visitors will hit errors.

Troubleshooting

"DNS not propagating"

DNS changes take up to 48 hours to propagate globally, though usually it's 5 minutes. Check your work:

dig yourname.com A
dig www.yourname.com CNAME

The A record should show Cloudflare's IPs. The CNAME should show krexel-edge.pages.dev.

If you see your registrar's default parking IPs, the records weren't added correctly.

"SSL certificate failed to issue"

Most common causes:

  • The CAA record is wrong. Should be 0 issue "letsencrypt.org" (with the exact syntax).
  • DNS isn't resolving yet. Wait 5 minutes, retry.
  • You've previously had a strict CAA record blocking Let's Encrypt. Remove it.

"Too many redirects"

You have a redirect loop somewhere. Common causes:

  • You set up an www → apex redirect AND an apex → www redirect at your registrar. Pick one.
  • Your registrar's SSL settings are forcing HTTPS on a domain that's also redirecting to HTTPS at Krexel.

Disable the registrar's automatic HTTPS redirect. Krexel handles SSL termination.

"Domain already connected to another Krexel account"

Domains are unique across Krexel. If you're seeing this for a domain you own, contact support@krexel.com with proof of ownership.

Next steps