Domains and SSL

A domain points visitors at a project on one of your servers. CloudPilot writes the web server configuration and can issue the certificate; you own the DNS.

The order matters#

1. Create the DNS record first. At your DNS provider, add an A record for the domain pointing at the server's IP address.
2. Wait for it to resolve. Propagation is usually minutes but can be longer.
3. Add the domain in CloudPilot — the server's Domains tab → Add domain → pick the project it should serve.
4. Issue the certificate from the same screen.

A certificate cannot be issued for a name that does not yet resolve to this server. The authority checks by making a request to the domain; if that request does not arrive at your box, the issue fails. This is the single most common reason it does not work.

Checking DNS yourself#

Before blaming CloudPilot, confirm the record exists from outside your own network:

dig +short yourdomain.com @8.8.8.8

That should print your server's IP. If it prints nothing, the record is missing or has not propagated. If it prints a different IP, the domain is pointing somewhere else — often a parked page at the registrar.

Domain readiness#

The Domains tab shows a readiness check for each domain: whether DNS resolves to this server, whether the web server is configured for it, and whether a valid certificate is present. Use it to see which of the three is missing rather than guessing.

Renewals#

Issued certificates renew automatically. The Certificates view shows expiry for each, and you can enable an alert for certificates nearing expiry via notification channels.

Subdomains#

A subdomain is an ordinary A record — app.yourdomain.com pointing at the same IP — added in CloudPilot the same way. Nothing about the process differs.