Domains & DNS¶

Bring a hostname you already own (any registrar), or search for a name in the console. HomeCloud verifies ownership, then you connect it to a service. Registration (buying a name) is not available yet. Search never charges you.

Item	Value
Console	Account → Domains (`/console/account/domains`)

The platform apex (today holab.abrdns.com) is a different DNS system. Tenant domains are your hostnames.

Search a domain¶

On Account → Domains, use the search box to check whether a name looks available.

You must be signed in. Search does not require billing.
A result of available does not reserve or buy the name.
Price may be missing. That is expected until registration is enabled.
The Buy action stays disabled until billing is turned on for the platform.

If HomeCloud DNS is enabled in this environment, a name you later register would become a hosted zone automatically. Until registration exists, add a domain you already own (below).

Add a domain¶

Domains → Add domain.
Enter the hostname (example.com or app.example.com).
Choose External DNS (keep records at your registrar) or HomeCloud DNS (a hosted zone).
Click Verify when the TXT or nameservers match.

If HomeCloud DNS is not enabled in this environment, that option is visible but disabled. External DNS still works.

External DNS¶

Keep DNS at your registrar. After TXT verify, open Hosts and connect an Application, Function URL, SO website (enable website hosting on the bucket first), machine, or public load balancer. You can attach more than one hostname on the same domain. To let HomeCloud host the zone later, open Settings and switch to HomeCloud DNS, then change nameservers at the registrar.

What you connect	Record to add
A subdomain (`www`, `app`, `api`, `test`, …) to Application / Function / SO	Set Host to that label, connect, then add a CNAME whose Name is only that label (not the full hostname) to the platform hostname shown
The root name (`example.com`) to Application / Function / SO	Leave Host empty. ALIAS or ANAME for `@` to that hostname, if your DNS host supports it. Otherwise change Host to a subdomain, save, and use a CNAME.
A machine or public load balancer	Connect the hostname to that resource. Discovery is A / AAAA from the resource’s public address or VIP — not a CNAME to the Function/SO edge.

On a pending connection you can change the host and Disconnect. Check DNS looks up the saved host only. SSL is issued automatically after DNS points here. The SSL tab shows Active / Pending / Failed / Expiring / Expired and Refresh.

HomeCloud DNS¶

When enabled, point nameservers at ns1.{apex} and ns2.{apex}, then Verify. That creates a hosted zone: SOA and NS are read-only. Manage A, AAAA, CNAME, TXT, MX, CAA, and SRV on the DNS tab. Apex → a service is an attachment, not a record type named ALIAS. You can export or import a BIND zone file on that tab.

After nameservers match, Connect on the Host Map writes the record and activates routing — no second Verify. Attach the root (empty host), www, api, or any other label. Connecting the apex can also create a www alias to the same service (checkbox on Connect; off by default). Enable DNSSEC on the DNS tab and copy the DS records at the registrar.

Every hosted record has an origin: system (SOA/NS), service (Connect), mail (Deliverability Fix), user (you / CLI / Terraform), or dynamic (DDNS). The DNS tab can edit or delete user rows only. Detach removes service rows; Mail Fix updates mail rows.

Compute hostnames¶

A hostname is bound to a resource (machine or load_balancer), not to a pasted address. HomeCloud DNS writes A / AAAA (origin=service, mode=static) from the observed public IPv4, public IPv6, associated Floating IP (preferred over sticky IPv4), or public LB VIP. When that address or VIP changes, the attachment rewrites the record — that is not DDNS (nic/update / myip is a later change).

A machine with no public IPv4 and no public IPv6 cannot take a public hostname. Attach the hostname to a public load balancer whose backends can be private NICs.
Public attach to an internal load balancer (scheme=internal) is rejected.
Agent Session is a console path to a private machine. It is not DNS.
TLS for a public HTTPS load balancer stays Compute-managed (point the hostname at the VIP). Machine guest TLS is on the guest. Compute attach does not create a Function/SO edge ingress.

CLI:

homecloud domains attach DOMAIN_ID --target-id MACHINE_ID --target-type machine --host api
homecloud domains attach DOMAIN_ID --target-id LB_ID --target-type load_balancer

PowerShell (JSON unchanged):

homecloud domains attach $domainId --target-id $machineId --target-type machine --host api

Dynamic DNS¶

On a hosted A or AAAA, enable dynamic DNS. The console shows a token once. Point ddclient (or similar) at dyndns2:

protocol=dyndns2
server=console.holab.abrdns.com
login=home.example.com
password=TOKEN

curl -u 'home.example.com:TOKEN' \
  'https://console.holab.abrdns.com/nic/update?hostname=home.example.com&myip=203.0.113.10'

The same update is also at /api/v1/dyn/nic/update. No account JWT. Bodies are dyndns2 text (good, nochg, badauth, nohost, abuse). Rotate or revoke the token from the DNS tab.

Some registrars reject HomeCloud nameservers until those hostnames are registered at the TLD. Until the platform finishes that (a later production-domain step), keep External DNS.

Domain page¶

Each domain has Hosts (default), DNS, SSL, Mail, and Settings. Links with tab=overview or tab=services open Hosts.

Hosts — hostname → Application, Function URL, SO website, machine, or public load balancer, with DNS / routing / TLS. Connect and Detach from this map. For External DNS pending attachments, copy the discovery CNAME (or apex A/AAAA/ALIAS) shown on the row. A private machine uses an LB (or Agent Session — not DNS).
DNS — HomeCloud hosted zone editor (origin-aware). External DNS is not a zone editor; pending discovery stays on Hosts.
Mail — Enable Mail on this verified hostname, then create mailboxes (hello@your-domain). External DNS: copy the MX / SPF / DKIM / DMARC rows at the registrar — you do not change nameservers. HomeCloud DNS can write those records (Deliverability → Fix). Live checks stay on this tab. Mail is not a second DNS editor.
Settings — switch External DNS ↔ HomeCloud DNS, then delete the domain after you detach services.

Applications, Function URLs, and SO websites show attached hostnames as Managed in Domains. Connect only from the domain page. Application custom_domain is no longer a writable field.

CLI and Terraform¶

homecloud domains create example.com --dns-mode homecloud
homecloud domains record-create DOMAIN_ID --type A --record 1.2.3.4 --host www
homecloud domains record-update DOMAIN_ID RECORD_ID --type A --record 1.2.3.5 --host www
homecloud domains record-delete DOMAIN_ID RECORD_ID
homecloud domains attach DOMAIN_ID --target-id FUNCTION_ID --target-type function --host test
homecloud domains attach DOMAIN_ID --target-id MACHINE_ID --target-type machine --host api
homecloud domains detach ATTACHMENT_ID

--host is the relative label (test, www). Empty is the root name. target-type for Compute is machine or load_balancer (compute / vm are aliases for machine). homecloud domains records includes origin and mode. Terraform homecloud_dns_record.origin is computed; mode is optional (static or dynamic). homecloud_domain_attachment.host is relative; changing it replaces the resource.

Terraform resources: homecloud_domain (optional wait_for_verified), homecloud_dns_record, homecloud_domain_attachment. Domain search and purchase are console/API only.

Tips¶

Nameserver changes can take minutes to hours.
Some registrars reject HomeCloud nameservers until those hostnames are registered at the TLD. Until that platform step is done, keep External DNS and use CNAME or ALIAS.
External DNS: CNAME on a subdomain; ALIAS or ANAME on the root if the DNS host supports it. HomeCloud DNS writes both for you.
Detach every hostname before deleting the domain.
Search is availability only. Buying a name is not offered yet.