Connect your domain

Connect now, choose an app when you’re ready

Open Domains and choose Connect a domain. Enter an address you own. Choose a website connection, or choose Parked page and the Mac whose relay region will hold the domain. A linked Mac is required, but you do not need a website running yet.

You can also start from Public access: choose Connect an app → Website or API, then choose Connect domain beside the app. This selects that app for you. Neither path installs or starts software in Linux.

Update DNS at your provider

Copy the exact record types, names and values shown in your domain’s setup. Keep unrelated mail and other existing records. For a root domain, use your provider’s ALIAS/ANAME option if supported, or the A/AAAA records shown. Add the ownership TXT record. Do not use addresses from screenshots or documentation examples.

The optional www record points visitors to the root domain. MacServe must verify ownership and routing before publishing your domain. A DNS entry alone is not proof of ownership.

Continue while records update

MacServe starts checking in the background after the domain is added. Save your records at the provider, then choose View status. You can leave the page: checks continue and gradually space out to avoid unnecessary load. Older domains may first show I’ve added the records to start their monitor.

DNS can take time to propagate. After five minutes the panel offers troubleshooting and shows expected values. ICANN Lookup identifies registration and nameservers; use a DNS-record lookup to compare A, AAAA, CNAME and TXT values. If records are still absent after your provider’s stated update period, contact the provider.

Connected means domain setup and HTTPS are ready. It is separate from your Mac’s public-access setting and whether your application is answering. Keep the application running to serve visitors.

Choose, switch or disconnect the app

On the domain’s page, choose Choose an app or Change app, select the destination and save. Choose Parked page to disconnect the current app without deleting it. Your DNS records, ownership verification and certificate identity are preserved.

The page waits for the relay to confirm its loaded destination. Applying or a missing confirmation is not success. Moving a domain between different relays requires a reviewed migration; the panel does not silently change DNS.

A verified unassigned domain shows a MacServe parked page served by the relay, even if your Mac is offline. An assigned app outage shows an unavailable page instead; an intentional public-access pause returns HTTP 503. Parking does not hide an outage automatically.

Parked pages are platform holding pages, not customer workload traffic. They are not debited from the VM’s transfer allowance and have separate request-rate protection. They contain no customer files and do not accept application uploads.