In this quick guide, we will show you how to automatically customize your preview URL when a new environment has been created using the Qovery CLI. By following these steps, you can create a custom domain for your service and link it to your DNS provider.

Before you begin, this guide assumes the following:

• Qovery CLI installed
• Access to your DNS provider

1. Create a Custom Domain for Your Service

   To create a custom domain for your service, run the following command in your terminal:

   # Get Pull Request ID from Qovery Environment Variables
   $ PR_ID=`qovery application env list -n "Backend" --show-values | grep "QOVERY_PROJECT_ID" | awk '{print $10}'`
   
   # Create a custom domain
   $ qovery application domain create -n "app name" --domain app-$PR_ID.domain.name

   Replace app name with the name of your application and app.domain.name with your desired custom domain.

   User --organization, --project, --environment flags to specify the organization, project, and environment where you want to create the custom domain.

2. Retrieve the Validation Domain

   To get the validation domain required for the next step, run the following command:

   $ qovery application domain list -n "app name" | grep "app-$PR_ID.domain.name" | awk '{print $7}'

   Replace app name and app.domain.name with the appropriate values. This command will output the validation domain.

3. Create a CNAME Record in Your DNS Provider

   Use the validation domain from the previous step to create a CNAME record in your DNS provider. The CNAME record should point to the validation domain.

   Example with Route53:

   $ aws cli route53 change-resource-record-sets --hosted-zone-id "hosted zone id" --change-batch '{"Changes":[{"Action":"CREATE","ResourceRecordSet":{"Name":"app-$PR_ID.domain.name","Type":"CNAME","TTL":300,"ResourceRecords":[{"Value":"validation-domain"}]}}]}'

   Example with Cloudflare:

   $ curl -X POST "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/{zone_id}/dns_records" \
        -H "X-Auth-Email: {email}" \
        -H "X-Auth-Key: {key}" \
        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
        --data '{"type":"CNAME","name":"app-$PR_ID.domain.name","content":"validation-domain","ttl":1,"proxied":false}'

   The idea here is to create a CNAME record that points to the validation domain. The validation domain is a temporary domain that is used to validate the ownership of the custom domain.

4. Redeploy your application

   Once the DNS changes have propagated, redeploy your application to complete the process.

   $ qovery application redeploy -n "app name" -w

   Your application should now be available at app-{PR ID}.domain.name.

How was it? Did this tutorial work?  Yes  No

Wrapping up

Congratulations! You have successfully customized your preview URL using the Qovery CLI. Now, whenever a new environment is created, the custom domain will be automatically configured. If you encounter any issues, please reach out to our support team on the Qovery forum.