Create a custom frontend

Learn how to create a custom frontend in the Frontdoor console and configure the necessary DNS records at your domain provider.

Creating a custom frontend allows you to serve your NetFoundry Frontdoor shares from your own domain name. This provides a seamless, professional experience by replacing the default URL with a branded link (e.g., files.your-company.com).

In addition to branding, a custom frontend is a prerequisite for securing your shares with an OAuth provider, allowing you to enforce authentication from identity providers like OIDC, GitHub, or Google.

Steps

Frontdoor console

1. From the Frontdoor console, click Frontends in the left-hand menu.

2. Click the + icon to create a new custom frontend.

3. Enter your domain name.

4. (Optional) Select an auth provider.

5. Click Save.

   You'll get a loading message that your DNS info is being created. You can wait for it to finish, or navigate away and come back later:

   

   Once the DNS info is ready, the screen will refresh with your CNAME record and A Record info. If it doesn't, close the custom frontend creation window, return to Frontends, refresh, and select your newly created custom frontend:

   

6. Create the CNAME and an A Record (with both values) in your DNS provider, as shown in the Frontdoor console.

   The Status for your custom frontend will be PENDING_DNS_VERIFICATION until you create the records in your DNS provider. It takes some time for the DNS changes to propagate.

   DNS provider name formatting

   Different DNS providers handle the Name or Host field differently, which can often lead to verification failures.

   • Full-domain entry: Some enterprise providers, like AWS Route 53, require you to paste the entire string provided in the UI (e.g., _a19b...bc4.docs.example.com).
   • Subdomain-only entry: Many consumer-focused providers, like GoDaddy, automatically append your root domain to any record you create (so, instead, use _a19b...bc4.docs).

7. Once the DNS changes update in the UI, the Status for your frontend will change to DEPLOYED and it's ready to use.

8. (Optional) NetFoundry will verify your DNS records, but you can also verify manually using command-line tools like nslookup or dig.

   Click the Verify your DNS records tab to see the nslookup commands and sample responses provided by NetFoundry to confirm your records are set up correctly.

   For example: nslookup test.docs.example.com

Command-line interface

Use the REST API to create a custom frontend for Frontdoor.

1. Replace the placeholders and run:

   curl --location "https://gateway.production.netfoundry.io/frontdoor/$FRONTDOOR_ID/custom-frontends" \
     --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
     --header "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
     --data '{
       "domainName": "'"$DOMAIN_NAME"'",
       "authProviderIds": ["'"$AUTH_PROVIDER_ID"'"]
     }'

   • The authProviderIds array is optional. Only include it if you want to attach an OAuth auth provider to this frontend.
   • The response will return a JSON object with the customFrontendId and status NEW.

2. After creation, it may take a minute for the frontend status to update to PENDING. You can check the frontend status:

   curl -s \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
     -H "Accept: application/json" \
     "https://gateway.production.netfoundry.io/frontdoor/$FRONTDOOR_ID/custom-frontends"

3. Once the frontend status is PENDING, fetch the DNS info:

   CUSTOM_FRONTEND_ID="your_custom_frontend_id_here"
   
   curl -s \
     -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \
     -H "Accept: application/json" \
     "https://gateway.production.netfoundry.io/frontdoor/$FRONTDOOR_ID/custom-frontends/$CUSTOM_FRONTEND_ID/dns-records"

   The response will include:

   {
     "frontdoorId": "your_frontdoor_id",
     "customFrontendId": "custom_frontend_id",
     "domainName": "files.your-company.com",
     "aRecord": {
       "name": "*.files.your-company.com",
       "ipAddress": ["75.2.114.129","166.117.134.68"]
     },
     "cnameRecords": [
       {
         "name": "_randomhash.files.your-company.com.",
         "value": "files.your-company.com.domains.zrok.sandbox.netfoundry.io"
       }
     ]
   }

4. After updating your DNS, you can verify DNS propagation using dig or nslookup:

   dig +short *.files.your-company.com
   dig +short _randomhash.files.your-company.com

   Once DNS resolves correctly, the frontend status will change to DEPLOYED.