Adding DNS records

Once you have a domain registered with a domain registrar, add the following DNS record on in your DNS editor:

Type	Name	Content	TTL
CNAME	@	domain-proxy.bearblog.dev	3600

If you want the blog on a subdomain (eg: https://blog.your-domain.com), substitute the @ for blog.

If you want a www subdomain as well, set up a redirect (URL forwarder) from www to @ in your domain settings.

If you're having an issue setting a root CNAME record go here.

If you're having a conflict between your CNAME and a TXT record go here

Validating your custom domain

Go to your domain in your browser. It should show 404 ʕノ•ᴥ•ʔノ ︵ ┻━┻.

If this page is not showing, then there is an issue with your DNS record setup, revert to step 1.

Note that DNS records can sometimes take a few minutes to propagate. You can check your DNS record propagation with DNS Checker

Adding your custom domain to Bear

Back in the Bear dashboard, add the domain (including the subdomain) to the custom_domain field in the header.

If you receive an SSL error on your first load, reload the page. It is likely that your SSL certificate is being issued.

If you are having serious problems setting up your DNS records, you can email me with a screenshot of your records and a description of the problem.

Problems setting a root CNAME

If you're having an issue setting a @ CNAME record (some DNS providers have this issue) you can instead set a www subdomain then forward your root requests to it.

For setting up a www subdomain (eg: https://www.your-domain.com), use the following DNS record instead:

Type	Name	Content	TTL
CNAME	www	domain-proxy.bearblog.dev	3600

Then in your domain manager set up a page rule that forwards @ (your root domain) to www (your subdomain) to redirect all traffic from https://your-domain.com to https://www.your-domain.com.

CNAME and TXT conflict

If your DNS provider has issues with setting both a CNAME and a TXT record at the same location, try instead setting an A or ALIAS record rather than a CNAME record.

Extra info

Bear uses CNAME records so that the IP address remains dynamic to allow for the proxy server to change if necessary. It works with both IPv6 and IPv4 under the hood.