Custom domains
Connect a customer hostname, configure DNS and verify HTTPS delivery to your business portal.
A custom domain serves the same business portal at your own hostname, such as
help.example.com. Its paths and content are the same as on the built-in portal
address; connecting it does not redirect or remove that address. A hostname can
belong to only one business at a time.
Connect
- Open Customer portal → Domains and enter a hostname, without
https://, a port or a path. Alternatively, callconnect_portal_domainthrough MCP. - Add all returned DNS records at your DNS provider. Setup normally includes:
- A routing CNAME pointing your hostname to
domains.octocom.ai. - A unique TXT record at
_octocom-portal.<hostname>proving ownership for this business. Copy the exact value shown in the instructions. - Any additional ownership or certificate-validation records returned by Cloudflare.
- A routing CNAME pointing your hostname to
- Wait for DNS changes and certificate provisioning, then click Check status
or call
refresh_portal_domain. - Open the domain and a published page to verify the actual visitor experience.
For example, connecting help.example.com typically requires a CNAME for
help to domains.octocom.ai and a TXT record for _octocom-portal.help in the
example.com zone. DNS providers differ in whether they require relative names
or fully qualified names. Use the values returned for your connection, not a
token copied from another business.
DNS-only CNAMEs are easiest to inspect. A proxied Cloudflare CNAME is also
supported: public DNS may show Cloudflare IP addresses instead of the underlying
CNAME. An apex domain such as example.com requires a DNS provider that supports
ALIAS or CNAME flattening. Keep the returned validation records in place.
Octocom provisions the Cloudflare custom hostname and certificate; you manage the records at your DNS provider. A CNAME alone does not register a domain with your business. The portal itself must also be enabled to serve content.
What Check status verifies
Setup checks ownership, Cloudflare hostname activation and Cloudflare certificate activation. When those pass, Octocom authorizes delivery for the business and creates the hostname's Worker route. It then makes an HTTPS connection check to confirm the domain actually reaches the portal Worker.
The check does not require a publicly visible CNAME. This avoids rejecting working proxied Cloudflare domains. It also does not treat an arbitrary Cloudflare IP address as proof of ownership or correct routing.
| Status field | Meaning |
|---|---|
ownershipVerified | The business ownership TXT check passed, or an existing domain was explicitly migrated by Octocom. |
hostnameStatus / sslStatus | Latest Cloudflare hostname and certificate states. Both must be active to authorize routing. |
connected | Ownership and Cloudflare activation passed; portal routing is authorized. |
dnsReady | The latest HTTPS connection probe reached the portal Worker successfully. |
checkedAt / errors | When setup was checked and reported Cloudflare validation problems. |
The dashboard shows Connected when routing is authorized and the HTTPS check has succeeded. Awaiting DNS can mean routing is authorized but HTTPS delivery has not yet been confirmed. These are last-checked results; click Check status again after fixing records. A route can already serve pages before the last HTTPS check has succeeded.
If provisioning fails, Retry setup retries the reserved connection. Do not change the hostname's ownership token yourself. If setup says it requires configuration by Octocom, contact Octocom: the server-side provisioning credential or Cloudflare configuration needs attention.
Disconnect or disable
Disconnect revokes the hostname's business mapping and removes its provisioned Cloudflare route and custom hostname. Remove the customer's DNS records separately. DNS and edge changes can take time to settle, but the backend mapping is revoked first. Page content and the built-in portal address are not deleted. If external cleanup fails, retry the disconnect.
To temporarily block all portal content while retaining domain setup, turn off Customer portal instead. The connection diagnostic can still respond even when the portal is disabled; it contains no business content.
Existing legacy domains
Automated setup deliberately refuses to adopt a Cloudflare hostname that already exists without a corresponding portal connection. Contact Octocom for a reviewed migration of an existing legacy domain. An operator can import an already verified connection without asking the customer to add a new business TXT record; this is not a self-service ownership bypass.
Plan the cutover separately from creating and testing pages. DNS changes depend on the old routing configuration; an already suitable CNAME may not need to change. Verify the old URLs' behavior before removing any legacy route.