DNS Migration from Fleek

DNS is the most important part of migrating off Fleek. The good news: if you were on Fleek, you're already managing your own DNS at your registrar. You don't need to switch nameservers; you just need to change what your records point at.

How Fleek handled DNS

On Fleek, you managed DNS at your own registrar (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare, etc.). Fleek gave you the record values, and you added them yourself:

DNSLink was handled differently depending on your setup:

• For custom domains using Fleek's CDN: your CNAME/ANAME record pointed at Fleek's infrastructure. DNSLink wasn't on your domain; Fleek managed it on their end.
• For DNSLink domains specifically: Fleek's approach was to CNAME your domain to a Fleek-assigned subdomain (like yourdomain.on.fleek.co). The _dnslink TXT record lived on Fleek's subdomain, not your custom domain. You just had a CNAME pointing at it.

This means you most likely never had a _dnslink TXT record on your own domain if you were using Fleek's standard setup. DNSLink was either managed by Fleek on their infrastructure, or you CNAME'd to a Fleek subdomain that had it.

How Pinner handles DNS

Pinner gives you two options:

If you were comfortable managing DNS records on Fleek, the self-managed path will feel familiar: same workflow, different values. If you'd rather not touch DNS records anymore, use Pinner-managed DNS.

Step-by-step: Switch to Pinner-managed DNS

Delegate nameservers to Pinner, and it handles everything automatically. This is the lowest-effort path.

1. Create the website on Pinner

pinner websites create mysite.example.com --cid <CID>

By default, Pinner enables DNS hosting for new websites: it creates a DNS zone and the required records automatically.

2. Get Pinner's nameservers

pinner websites config

This shows the nameservers Pinner assigned to your domain.

3. Switch nameservers at your registrar

Go to the same registrar where you managed DNS for Fleek, and update the nameservers to Pinner's.

This is the step that causes downtime. DNS propagation takes anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours. Your site may be unreachable during this window.

To minimize downtime: Do the nameserver switch during a low-traffic period. Pinner's DNS records are already in place, so the moment the new nameservers propagate, your site starts working on Pinner.

4. Verify the switch

After changing nameservers, confirm the delegation:

dig NS mysite.example.com

You should see Pinner's nameservers in the response. If you still see your registrar's default nameservers, propagation isn't complete yet.

5. Validate on Pinner

pinner websites validate mysite.example.com

6. Wait for SSL

SSL provisions automatically after DNS is confirmed:

pinner websites ssl status mysite.example.com

Step-by-step: Switch to self-managed DNS

Stay at your current DNS provider. Same approach you used with Fleek; just update the record values to point at Pinner instead.

1. Create the website with DNS hosting disabled

pinner websites create mysite.example.com --cid <CID> --no-dns-hosting

2. Update your DNS records

At your DNS provider, replace the Fleek values with Pinner values:

If you were using Fleek's standard DNS setup, you likely had a CNAME pointing at Fleek's infrastructure, and Fleek handled DNSLink internally. In that case, the _dnslink TXT record is new: Pinner needs it on your domain (unless you use Pinner-managed DNS, which handles it automatically).

Get the Pinner gateway domain from:

pinner websites config

For IPNS targets (recommended if your site updates frequently):

• DNSLink value: dnslink=/ipns/<peerID>: the domain always resolves to the latest content

For direct IPFS targets:

• DNSLink value: dnslink=/ipfs/<CID>: you'll need to update this record each time you deploy

3. Add validation TXT record

The website response includes a validation_record_host and validation_token. Add:

4. Validate and wait for SSL

pinner websites validate mysite.example.com
pinner websites ssl status mysite.example.com

Removing the old Fleek records

Once Pinner is serving your site, remove the old Fleek DNS records at your registrar:

• Delete the CNAME/ALIAS record pointing at Fleek's infrastructure
• You likely don't have a _dnslink TXT record to remove; Fleek managed that on their end
• Keep any non-Fleek records (email, other subdomains, etc.)

If you're using Pinner-managed DNS, this is handled automatically; delegating the nameservers replaces all the records at once.

What's different from Fleek

Troubleshooting

Validation keeps failing with dns_missing

DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours (usually faster: 5 to 30 minutes). Verify the DNSLink and verification TXT records exist:

dig TXT _dnslink.mysite.example.com
dig TXT <validation_record_host>

Validation fails with dns_mismatch

The DNSLink TXT record was found but doesn't match the expected target. Check that the _dnslink TXT record value is correct; it should be dnslink=/ipfs/<CID> or dnslink=/ipns/<peerID>.

SSL is stuck in pending or failed

SSL can only provision after DNS is fully resolved. Check that:

1. The DNSLink record resolves correctly (for self-managed DNS)
2. Nameserver delegation is complete (for Pinner-managed DNS)
3. The validation TXT record is in place

Then check SSL status:

pinner websites ssl status mysite.example.com

I had multiple domains on Fleek

Each domain is independent. Update the DNS records for each domain separately, the same way you set them up on Fleek.

I had DNSLink set up on Fleek: do I need a _dnslink record now?

Probably yes. On Fleek, DNSLink was handled on Fleek's side; your domain either CNAME'd to a Fleek subdomain that had the _dnslink TXT record, or Fleek managed it internally. Either way, the _dnslink TXT record was not on your custom domain.

With Pinner, DNSLink needs to resolve from your domain (unless you use Pinner-managed DNS, which handles it automatically). For self-managed DNS, add a TXT record at _dnslink.yourdomain.com with the value dnslink=/ipfs/<CID> or dnslink=/ipns/<peerID>.

Next steps

• Deploy with GitHub Actions: automate deploys on push
• IPNS: use IPNS for updatable content addresses
• Custom Domains: full domain setup reference