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Custom Domain Using Azure CLI

Prerequisites

  1. Active Azure subscription
  2. Azure CLI installed on your computer
  3. A purchased domain name that is ready to use

Step 1: Create a Resource Group

If you don’t already have a resource group created where the DNS zone and/or Static Web App will be stored, then the following will create that for you:

az group create --name newResourceGroup --location eastus

Step 2: Create the DNS Zone

The DNS Zone in Azure is the data resource that contains the DNS records for a domain name. With a DNS zone you can manage the DNS records for your domain, and point your registrars name servers to the Azure DNS IP’s for your DNS zone.

To create a DNS zone for your custom domain:

az network dns zone create --resource-group newResourceGroup --name mydomain.com

Step 3: Retrieve the Name Servers

These will be required for your domain registrars website. Essentially, your domain requests will be pointed to these listed name servers so that Azure DNS handles the DNS queries to your domain name.

az network dns zone show --resource-group newResourceGroup --name mydomain.com `
--query "nameServers" --output table

Step 4: Add a CNAME Record to the DNS Zone

The CNAME is needed because it maps the alias, such as the subdomain, to the apex or root domain name. In this guide, we are mapping the www subdomain for our Static Web App.

First create the cname record:

az network dns record-set cname create --resource-group newResourceGroup `
--zone-name mydomain.com --name www

Then set the value of the CNAME record:

az network dns record-set cname set-record --resource-group newResourceGroup `
--zone-name mydomain.com --record-set-name www --cname www.mydomain.com

Step 5: Configure Custom Domain in your Static Web App

{{< callout >}} If you have not yet created your Static Web App in Azure, check out Deploy a Hugo site to Azure Static Web Apps {{< /callout >}}

Now set the custom domain to your Static Web App:

az staticwebapp hostname set --resource-group newResourceGroup --name myStaticWebApp `
--hostname www.mydomain.com

Step 6: Verify Domain Ownership

Due to the nature of Azure providing SSL certificates for your Static Web App, there might be times when you’ll need to verify that you do in-fact own your custom domain name.

To verify ownership of the domain, you must add a TXT record to the DNS zone, which is provided by Azure. I know this may sound confusing, since it’s the same place we are configuring but hold steady here.

Retrieve the verification token:

az staticwebapp hostname show --resource-group newResourceGroup --name myStaticWebApp `
--hostname www.mydomain.com --query "validationToken"

Then add the TXT record to the DNS zone:

az network dns record-set txt add-record --resource-group newResourceGroup \
--zone-name mydomain.com --record-set-name asuid --value "your_validationToken"

Step 7: Verify DNS Propagation

Use tools such as nslookup or dig or online DNS resolvers/checkers to verify the DNS changes. This process can take some time to complete after changes are made to your DNS records.

Resources

My favorite place to learn more would be tool references, such as the Azure CLI A-Z Reference list