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How Do I Use A Custom Domain?

This guide shows you how to use any domain name you already own, such as app.your-domain.com, with ngrok.

note

ngrok is not a domain registrar; you must already own a domain name to use it with ngrok.

1. Add your domain in ngrok​

On your dashboard's Domain page, click the New Domain button to add your domain to your ngrok account. After it's been added, you'll be given a CNAME value such as exampledata.otherdata.ngrok-cname.com. Copy this for the next step.

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You can also add a domain via the ngrok API. The CNAME will be in the "cname_target" field of the response object.

2. Add the CNAME record to your domain​

In a new browser tab, navigate to your domain hosting provider's dashboard and create a CNAME record. (Check your provider's support content if you're unsure how to do this.) When configuring the record, use the following values:

  • type: CNAME
  • name: @
  • value: the CNAME value you copied from ngrok
Test your CNAME record

Using a tool like dig or nslookup, you can test your CNAME record in the terminal.

3. Start an endpoint using your domain​

To start an agent endpoint at your domain, run the following command in your terminal, replacing your-domain-here.example.com with the domain you added in the ngrok dashboard:

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Wildcard domains​

If you bring your own wildcard domain (such as*.example.com), you must create a second CNAME record with your domain host for wildcard TLS Certificate provisioning.

Apex domains​

Because it's not possible to create CNAME records for apex domains (such as example.com), if you want to use an apex domain, you must use a DNS provider that supports an ALIAS record or CNAME flattening.

Due to how ALIAS/CNAME flattening is implemented, apex domains cannot take advantage of the Global Load Balancer. If you're trying to create your apex domain because you need to create endpoints for multiple subdomains, use a wildcard domain instead.

Using custom domains with TCP endpoints​

Public TCP endpoints are assigned randomly on an ngrok-controlled hostname with a randomly assigned port. You cannot choose the hostname or select the port.

However, you can simulate a customized hostname by creating a CNAME record to the hostname of your assigned TCP address. If you do so, be aware that all ports on that hostname—even those provisioned to other accounts—will then be available on your domain.

For example, if your TCP address is 5.tcp.ngrok.io:12345, you could create the following CNAME record:

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Then you can access that TCP endpoint with:

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