Configure Domain and DNS for Sites
Who this is for
Users who want to point a custom domain name to a site hosted on CloudAIPilot.
Prerequisites
- You own a domain name and have access to its DNS settings (via your domain registrar or DNS provider such as Cloudflare, Route53, or Namecheap).
- Your site is already created in CloudAIPilot.
- You know the public IP address of the server hosting the site (visible on the server detail overview).
Step 1: Find Your Server's IP Address
- Open the server detail.
- The IP address is shown on the Overview tab.
- Copy this IP address.
Step 2: Add or Update the Domain on Your Site
If you did not enter a domain when creating the site:
- Open the site detail.
- Go to Settings (or the domain field in the overview).
- Enter your domain (e.g.,
myblog.comorapp.mycompany.com). - Save.
CloudAIPilot stores the domain in lowercase. Do not use http:// or https:// — enter the bare domain only.
Step 3: Create the DNS Record at Your Registrar
At your DNS provider, create an A record pointing the domain to your server's IP address:
| Type | Name | Value | TTL |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | @ (for root domain) | | 300 (5 min) |
| A | www | | 300 |
If you are using a subdomain (e.g., staging.myblog.com):
| Type | Name | Value | TTL |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | staging | | 300 |
Step 4: Wait for DNS Propagation
DNS changes propagate across the internet within minutes to 48 hours (typically under 30 minutes with a 300-second TTL).
To check propagation:
- Use dnschecker.org — enter your domain and see if the A record resolves to your server IP.
- Or run in your terminal:
nslookup yourdomain.com
Step 5: Issue SSL After DNS Is Active
Once the domain resolves to your server:
- Go to the site detail and click Issue SSL (or see KB-03-04: SSL Certificates).
- SSL provisioning will fail if DNS has not propagated yet.
Using Cloudflare? Important Note
If you are using Cloudflare as your DNS provider:
- Set the proxy status to DNS only (grey cloud icon) when first provisioning SSL via Let's Encrypt / Certbot.
- After SSL is successfully issued, you can enable Cloudflare's proxy (orange cloud) if desired, but set SSL/TLS mode to Full (strict) to avoid redirect loops.
What Success Looks Like
Visiting your domain in a browser shows your site. nslookup yourdomain.com returns your server's IP address.
Common Issues and Fixes
| Issue | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "DOMAIN_CONFLICT" in CloudAIPilot | Domain already assigned to another site on the same server | Remove the domain from the other site first, or use a subdomain. |
| Site shows "This site can't be reached" | DNS not propagated yet, or A record is wrong | Verify the A record value matches the server IP. Use dnschecker.org. |
| SSL fails with "domain not resolving" | DNS hasn't propagated | Wait and try again. CloudAIPilot will not attempt Certbot if DNS doesn't resolve. |
| Browser shows wrong site | Multiple sites share the same domain | Check all sites on the server — only one may use each domain. |