Using External DNS Services with Now

Starting with version 0.35.0 of thecommand line interface, we'll provide out of the box support for DNS/CDN services like CloudFlare or StackPath .

This is made possible by a few improvements we've made to the way how the system is verifying new domains before you can use them. Assuming that you'd like to add a new domain for a deployment of yours, there are now two ways to handle it:

This is the usual way of adding a new domain to. It requires you configure your domain to point to a few zeit.world nameservers of your choice and run this command afterwards:

▲ now domain add zeit.rocks

There are no changes to this workflow, other than that the domain will now be verified properly in the background. We're using a refined mechanism which makes sure that the domain is correctly configured and pointing to zeit.world .

This additional step (which you won't even notice) ensures that the domain is ready to be linked to a deployment of your choice.

In some cases, your domain registar may request you to set the DNS records on the destination nameservers ( zeit.world ), before you can set the NS entries...

So far, we've provided a way to still let you add said domain to(so that you can configure the DNS records) by using the --force flag:

▲ now domain add zeit.rocks --force

In this case, it's obvious that we won't be able to verify that your domain actually points to our infrastructure (because you haven't configured the NS entries yet), so you need to run the main command after you've added them:

▲ now domain add zeit.rocks

Once you're done with that, your domain is properly verified and ready to be used!

Previously, you've been able to use external nameservers by simply creating a CNAME record with a value of alias.zeit.co and adding an alias using the now alias command.

From now on, this will be slightly different: You need to create a TXT record containing a token for authorization.

The following example is demonstrating how you can use CloudFlare with. However, this workflow just works the same for any other external DNS service:

Firstly, add the domain tousing the --external flag:

▲ now domain add --external awesome-now.us

Next, you'll see a token which you need to add as a TXT record to the DNS entries on the platform you're using for DNS management (like mentioned above):

Finally, repeat the first step and your domain will be added (you won't see another token this time). Now you can use the domain for one of your deployments!

If you've installed Now's command line interface using Now Desktop , the only thing you need to do is make sure that the application is running . Assuming that's the case, the binary will automatically be updated for you in the next few minutes!

However, if that's not the case, we highly recommend you to download it and use it to install the CLI. Afterwards, you're covered!

If you're on a platform that's not yet supported by Now Desktop , simply update/install the command line utility like this: npm install -g now@latest .