Custom domains

Every Dina app gets a default URL like https://my-app.dina.run. That’s great for testing, but most real products want to live under their own domain. A custom hostname (sometimes called a custom domain) lets visitors reach your app at app.yourcompany.com instead.

Attaching a custom hostname is a two-step dance:

1. Tell Dina about the hostname.
2. Point your domain’s DNS at the app.

The order doesn’t matter — but both have to be done before visitors can load the site.

1. Add the hostname to your app

dina apps hostnames add --app my-app api.example.com

Dina records that this app should answer to that hostname and issues a TLS certificate for it once DNS is set up.

You can attach multiple hostnames to the same app:

dina apps hostnames add --app my-app api.example.com
dina apps hostnames add --app my-app www.example.com

2. Point DNS at your app

In your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Namecheap, Gandi, wherever your domain lives), add a record pointing the hostname at your app’s Dina URL.

If you need to look up your app’s Dina URL:

dina apps info --app my-app

The simplest setup is a CNAME record pointing your hostname at the dina.run URL. If your DNS provider doesn’t allow CNAMEs at the root of a domain (the so-called apex), use an A record instead — your provider’s docs will walk you through it.

Changes usually propagate in a few minutes, sometimes longer. While you wait, Dina is automatically requesting a TLS certificate so https:// works once DNS resolves.

Verify it’s working

dina apps info --app my-app

The Hostnames section lists every hostname attached to the app. In your browser, loading the hostname should show your app — not a certificate warning and not a “not found” page from Dina.

If the certificate isn’t ready yet, wait a few minutes and try again. Certificate issuance requires DNS to resolve first.

Remove a hostname

dina apps hostnames remove --app my-app api.example.com

The CLI asks for confirmation before unbinding the hostname. Skip the prompt in scripts with --force:

dina apps hostnames remove --app my-app api.example.com --force

Removing a hostname doesn’t delete your DNS records — that’s up to your DNS provider. Once the hostname is detached from the app, requests to it will no longer reach Dina.

Common problems

Browser shows a certificate warning. DNS isn’t resolving yet, or the certificate is still being issued. Give it a few minutes after changing DNS.

Site loads but shows a 404. The hostname might be pointed at the wrong app, or DNS is pointing at something other than your Dina app. Run dina apps info --app my-app to check the expected URL and compare it with what your DNS record actually returns (dig api.example.com or any online DNS lookup tool).

“Already attached to another app”. A hostname can only belong to one app. Remove it from the other app first, or choose a different hostname.