Custom Domain

Connect your AI apps to your own domain for professional branding

Custom domains allow you to publish your CalStudio AI apps and App Studios on your own branded domain, providing a seamless experience for your users without any CalStudio branding.

Overview

Custom domains solve a major limitation of AI chatbots - the ability to share and deploy them on your own website. With CalStudio, you can:

• Host your AI apps on your own domain (e.g., yourdomain.com or chat.yourdomain.com)
• Share your apps publicly without requiring user sign-ups
• Maintain complete brand consistency
• Build trust with professional URLs
• Improve SEO and discoverability
• Embed apps directly on your existing website

Prerequisites

Before setting up a custom domain, ensure you have:

CalStudio Pro Plan

Custom domains are available on Pro plans and above

Domain Ownership

A registered domain with DNS management access

Step-by-Step Setup Process

Step 1: Sign Up and Access Dashboard

1. Sign up on the CalStudio platform
2. Once signed up, you’ll see your dashboard

Step 2: Create Your AI App

1. Click on the “Create App” button in your dashboard
2. Fill out the app creation form with:
   • App Name: Choose a descriptive name
   • Description: Brief explanation of your app’s purpose
   • AI Model: Select your preferred model (GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Claude, etc.)
   • System Prompt: Define your AI’s behavior and personality
   • Knowledge Base: Optionally upload files for your AI to reference
3. Click “Create App” to generate your AI application

Step 3: Test and Launch Your App

1. Test your app thoroughly using the built-in chat interface
2. Make any necessary adjustments to the prompt or settings
3. When satisfied, click “Launch” to make it publicly available

Step 4: Publish to Custom Domain

1. In your app’s dashboard, find the Status row
2. Click on the “Publish” option
3. Select “Custom Domain” from the publishing options
4. Enter your desired domain:
   • Root domain: yourdomain.com
   • Subdomain: app.yourdomain.com or chat.yourdomain.com

Step 5: Configure DNS Settings

CalStudio will provide DNS records based on your domain type:

Subdomain (Recommended)

For subdomains like chat.yourdomain.com:

1. You’ll receive a CNAME record from CalStudio
2. Add this record to your DNS provider:
   Type: CNAME
   Name: chat (or your chosen subdomain)
   Value: [provided-by-calstudio].calstudio.app
   TTL: 3600 (or default)
   

3. Save your DNS changes

Subdomains are easier to configure and don’t affect your main website or email settings.

Step 6: Verify Deployment

1. Wait for DNS propagation (usually 5-30 minutes for CNAME, up to 48 hours for NS)
2. Visit your custom domain
3. Your AI app should now be live!

Use DNS Checker to verify your DNS records have propagated globally.

Visual Walkthrough

Follow these step-by-step instructions to publish your Custom GPT to a custom domain using CalStudio.

1. Sign Up on CalStudio

Navigate to CalStudio and create your account to get started.

2. Create Your App

Once you have signed up, click on the “Create App” button in your dashboard.

3. Configure Your AI App

Fill out the form with the necessary details:

• Select the AI model of your choice (GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Claude, etc.)
• Add a name and description
• Define the system prompt
• Optionally, add a knowledge base for your AI bot

4. Test and Launch

Click on “Create App” and you’ll have your Custom GPT app created in the dashboard. Test this app and launch it, making it available to anyone publicly.

5. Publish to Custom Domain

To publish the app on a custom domain, click on the Publish option under the status row:

Select “Custom Domain” to publish it to a custom domain. You’ll then need to provide the domain name:

6. Configure DNS Records

After entering your domain, you’ll receive DNS records to configure:

For Subdomains

When publishing to a subdomain (e.g., app.yourdomain.com), you’ll receive two CNAME records:

Example records you’ll receive:

1. SSL Certificate Validation Record:

   • This CNAME record is required for SSL certificate validation
   • It will have a long, unique name starting with an underscore
   • The value points to AWS Certificate Manager for validation

2. Website CNAME Record:

   • This points your subdomain to your CalStudio app
   • Name: Your chosen subdomain (e.g., app.yourdomain.com)
   • Value: An AWS load balancer URL

Important: After adding these records, your website will be available at your custom domain. The first CNAME record is specifically for SSL certificate validation.

For Root Domains

Root domains will receive NS (nameserver) records as described in the DNS settings section above.

Video Tutorial

For a detailed video walkthrough of the custom domain setup process, watch this helpful tutorial.

App Studios Custom Domains

App Studios (bundles of multiple AI apps) can also be published to custom domains using the same process. This allows you to create your own AI marketplace under your branded domain.

The publishing process for App Studios is identical to individual apps. When you select “Custom Domain” from the publishing options, you’ll see the domain input modal:

After entering your domain:

• You’ll receive the same DNS records (CNAME for subdomains or NS for root domains)
• Configure them in your DNS provider following the instructions above
• Your entire App Studio marketplace will be accessible at your custom domain
• All apps within the studio will be available under your branded domain

SSL Certificates

CalStudio automatically provisions and manages SSL certificates for all custom domains using AWS Certificate Manager. Your app will be served securely over HTTPS.

Best Practices

Use Subdomains

Subdomains are easier to manage and don’t affect your main website

Test First

Thoroughly test your app before connecting a production domain

Monitor Uptime

Set up monitoring to ensure your custom domain stays accessible

Keep Records

Document your DNS configuration for future reference

How to Add CNAME Records

Here’s how to add the two CNAME records in popular DNS providers:

Cloudflare

1. Log in to Cloudflare dashboard
2. Select your domain
3. Go to DNS → Records
4. Click Add record

For the SSL validation record:

• Type: CNAME
• Name: Paste the long underscore name (e.g., _ce016fc2...)
• Target: Paste the AWS validation value
• Proxy status: DNS only (gray cloud)
• TTL: Auto

For the subdomain record:

• Type: CNAME
• Name: Your subdomain (e.g., app)
• Target: Paste the AWS load balancer URL
• Proxy status: DNS only (gray cloud)
• TTL: Auto

GoDaddy

1. Sign in to GoDaddy Domain Control Center
2. Select your domain
3. Click DNS → Manage DNS
4. Click ADD under records

For each CNAME record:

• Type: CNAME
• Host: The record name (remove your domain from the end if GoDaddy adds it)
• Points to: The target value
• TTL: 1 hour

5. Save both records

Namecheap

1. Sign in to Namecheap
2. Go to Domain List → Manage
3. Select Advanced DNS
4. Click Add New Record

For each CNAME record:

• Type: CNAME Record
• Host: The record name (without your domain)
• Value: The target value
• TTL: Automatic

5. Save all changes

Google Domains

1. Sign in to Google Domains
2. Click your domain
3. Go to DNS → Manage custom records
4. Click Create new record

For each CNAME record:

• Type: CNAME
• Host name: The record name
• Data: The target value
• TTL: 1 hour

5. Save both records

Troubleshooting

Domain not working after 48 hours

• Verify DNS records are correctly configured
• Check for typos in the domain name
• Ensure no conflicting A or AAAA records exist
• Contact support with your domain details

SSL certificate errors

• CalStudio automatically handles SSL certificates
• If using Cloudflare, ensure proxy is disabled (DNS only)
• Allow up to 24 hours for certificate provisioning

Email stopped working (root domain)

• This occurs with NS delegation
• You’ll need to recreate MX records in CalStudio’s DNS manager
• Consider using a subdomain instead to avoid email issues

Want to remove custom domain

• Remove the domain in CalStudio dashboard first
• Then update/remove DNS records at your provider
• Your app will revert to the CalStudio subdomain

Next Steps

White-Label Branding

Remove all CalStudio branding (Pro Plus)

Embed Your App

Embed your AI app on existing websites