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Deploy Dograh AI with your own custom domain name for a professional production setup. By now, you should be able to create and test a voice agent by following the previous guide to setup the platform on a remote server using Docker

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What is Custom Domain Deployment?

Custom domain deployment allows you to run Dograh AI with a personalized domain name (like voice.yourcompany.com) instead of using IP addresses. This setup includes:
  • Custom Domain: Access your application via a memorable domain name
  • Automatic SSL: Proper SSL certificates from Let’s Encrypt or similar providers
  • Professional Setup: Production-ready configuration for business use
  • Easy Sharing: Share a clean URL with your team and customers

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Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:
  • A domain name you own (e.g., yourcompany.com)
  • Access to your domain’s DNS settings (usually through your domain registrar)
  • Dograh AI already running on your server via the remote deployment guide
  • Your server’s public IP address

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Step 1: Configure DNS Records

You need to create a DNS record that points your domain to your server’s IP address.

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Add an A Record

Log in to your domain registrar or DNS provider and add an A record:
SettingValue
TypeA
Name/Hostvoice (or @ for root domain)
Value/Points toYour server’s IP address (e.g., 203.0.113.50)
TTL300 (or default)
DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate, though most changes take effect within 5-30 minutes. You can check if your DNS has propagated using tools like dnschecker.org.

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Verify DNS Propagation

Before proceeding, verify that your domain points to your server: 
nslookup voice.yourcompany.com
You should see your server’s IP address in the response. Once your DNS is configured, run the automated setup script that handles the rest: 
curl -o setup_custom_domain.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dograh-hq/dograh/main/scripts/setup_custom_domain.sh && chmod +x setup_custom_domain.sh && sudo ./setup_custom_domain.sh
The script will prompt you for:
  • Your domain name
  • An email address for Let’s Encrypt notifications
It will automatically:
  • Verify DNS configuration
  • Install Certbot
  • Generate Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates
  • Update nginx configuration
  • Configure automatic certificate renewal
  • Restart Dograh services
Once complete, your application will be available at https://voice.yourcompany.com.
If you prefer to set things up manually, continue with the steps below.

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Manual Setup

If you prefer to configure everything manually, follow these steps instead of using the automated script.

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Install Certbot

Certbot is the official Let’s Encrypt client that automates SSL certificate generation. Ubuntu/Debian: 
sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot -y
Amazon Linux/RHEL: 
sudo yum install certbot -y

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Stop Dograh Services

Before generating certificates, stop the running Dograh services to free up port 80: 
cd dograh
sudo docker compose --profile remote down

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Generate SSL Certificates

Run Certbot to obtain SSL certificates for your domain: 
sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d voice.yourcompany.com
Replace voice.yourcompany.com with your actual domain name. Certbot will:
  1. Verify that you control the domain
  2. Generate SSL certificates
  3. Store them in /etc/letsencrypt/archive/voice.yourcompany.com/
You’ll be prompted to enter an email address for renewal notifications and agree to the terms of service.

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Copy Certificates to Dograh Directory

Copy the generated certificates to the dograh certs directory: 
cd dograh
sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/archive/voice.yourcompany.com/fullchain1.pem certs/local.crt
sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/archive/voice.yourcompany.com/privkey1.pem certs/local.key
sudo chmod 644 certs/local.crt certs/local.key

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Update nginx Configuration

Update the nginx configuration to use your domain name. Open the nginx configuration file: 
nano dograh/nginx.conf
Update the server_name directive with your domain: 
server {
    listen 443 ssl;
    server_name voice.yourcompany.com;

    ssl_certificate     /etc/nginx/certs/local.crt;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/certs/local.key;

    # ... rest of the configuration remains the same
}

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Start Dograh Services

Start Dograh with the updated configuration: 
cd dograh
sudo docker compose --profile remote up -d --pull always

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Access Your Application

Your application is now available at: 
https://voice.yourcompany.com
You should see a valid SSL certificate (green padlock) in your browser.

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Set Up Certificate Renewal

Let’s Encrypt certificates expire after 90 days. Set up automatic renewal. Create a renewal hook script that copies the new certificates: 
sudo nano /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/deploy/dograh-reload.sh
Add the following content (replace paths as needed): 
#!/bin/bash
# Copy renewed certificates to dograh certs directory
cp /etc/letsencrypt/archive/voice.yourcompany.com/fullchain1.pem /home/ubuntu/dograh/certs/local.crt
cp /etc/letsencrypt/archive/voice.yourcompany.com/privkey1.pem /home/ubuntu/dograh/certs/local.key
chmod 644 /home/ubuntu/dograh/certs/local.crt /home/ubuntu/dograh/certs/local.key

# Restart nginx to load new certificates
cd /home/ubuntu/dograh
docker compose --profile remote restart nginx
Make the script executable: 
sudo chmod +x /etc/letsencrypt/renewal-hooks/deploy/dograh-reload.sh
Test that renewal works: 
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

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Troubleshooting

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Certificate Generation Fails

If Certbot fails to generate certificates:
  1. Port 80 blocked: Ensure port 80 is open in your firewall and no service is using it
  2. DNS not propagated: Wait for DNS changes to propagate and verify with nslookup
  3. Rate limits: Let’s Encrypt has rate limits. If you’ve exceeded them, wait before retrying

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SSL Certificate Errors in Browser

If you see SSL errors after setup:
  1. Verify the certificates were copied correctly: ls -la dograh/certs/
  2. Check that nginx.conf points to /etc/nginx/certs/local.crt and /etc/nginx/certs/local.key
  3. Restart the nginx container: sudo docker compose --profile remote restart nginx

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WebRTC Connection Issues

If voice calls don’t connect after domain setup:
  1. Ensure TCP/UDP ports 3478, 5349, and UDP 49152-49200 are still open
  2. Update the .env file with your domain name if needed for TURN server configuration