Use your own domain for a server on uniz.host

Players remember play.yourservername.com far more easily than the platform address we hand out when a server is created. If you already own a domain, pointing it at a server on uniz.host takes a single DNS record. Nothing changes inside the game, the server does not need a restart, and we do not charge for it. It works for every game we host — Minecraft simply has one extra step on the website.

First: the steps differ by game

On the server page, open the "Settings" tab and then the "Connection" group. Its first section is "Server address". At the top of it is the platform subdomain, which you can edit; below that the share link; and last a field labelled "Custom domain" — the subject of this guide.

The "Custom domain" field renders only for Minecraft servers. If your server is another game, the section has no such field — which does not mean you cannot use your own domain. It means you do not have to ask us. The reason is how players are routed, which is genuinely different per game.

Every Minecraft server, for every customer, arrives at one front door. The router reads the hostname the player typed in-game and decides where to send the connection, so the platform has to know your name first — that is what the verify button is for. The other games are separated by each server's own port number. There is no name table to register in, so your domain works the moment the DNS record propagates. Its own section is below.

How to attach your domain

Copy your server's current address

Inside "Custom domain" there is a grey bar showing the record you need, written as CNAME followed by an arrow pointing at your server's current address. The copy icon at the end of the bar copies the target — the value you paste at your provider — not the whole line.

That target is the address the server uses right now. If you were planning to change the subdomain anyway, change it first and then copy, or you will be editing the record at your provider a second time.

Add the CNAME record at your domain provider

Open the DNS management page for your domain and add one record:

• Type: CNAME
• Name / host: the label you want players to type — play if you want play.yourdomain.com (most providers accept the label alone, not the full name)
• Value / target: the address you copied in the previous step
• TTL: the default is fine; a shorter one takes effect sooner

If your domain sits behind a proxy or web-acceleration service, turn it off for this name. Those services are built for web traffic, they do not forward game connections, and they also break the next step — what the rest of the internet resolves would no longer be your CNAME.

Come back, enter the domain and press Add domain

Type the full name you just created, such as play.yourdomain.com, into the "Custom domain" field and press "Add domain". While the lookup runs, the button reads "Checking…".

The platform performs a real lookup on public DNS, follows chained CNAMEs up to 5 hops, and accepts the domain when any hop lands on your server's address. If your server was migrated from the older address format, a record pointing at the pre-migration address counts too — both addresses keep routing.

On success the domain is stored: the field turns into your domain with a "Connected" badge and a "Remove" button beside it. On a Java server the domain also appears in the "Join the game" box on the Overview tab, ready to copy for your friends. On failure the explanation appears under the field, naming the address you should be pointing at, and the setup instructions stay on screen so you can fix it immediately.

Tell your players the new address

Routing takes effect immediately — no restart. Test it by adding the server in-game under the new name and checking that it reports online. If the server is asleep, connecting through the new domain wakes it exactly as the platform address does.

Every previous address keeps working. Attaching a domain adds a name; it does not move the server.

When verification fails, work down this list

The platform accepts the domain only when a public DNS lookup ends at your server's address. Everything else is a failure. In order of how often they actually happen:

1. Not propagated yet — by far the most common. A new record publishes on your TTL, from a few minutes to several hours. Nothing to fix; wait and press verify again.
2. Wrong record type — a record holding a raw IP address will not do. It has to be a CNAME, because our target address can change and the CNAME is what saves you from chasing it.
3. Name typed into the wrong box — many providers want only the label. Typing the full name produces play.yourdomain.com.yourdomain.com. Check what the record reads as after saving.
4. Trying to use the bare domain — DNS generally does not allow a CNAME at the top of a zone. Use a label in front.
5. Provider proxy left on — what everyone else resolves is no longer your CNAME. Turn it off for this name.
6. A name under the platform's own domain — anything ending in the uniz.host domain is rejected before the lookup even runs. That is what the subdomain field above is for.

Every verify press performs a real DNS lookup, so it draws on the same budget as subdomain edits: 5 attempts per hour per server. Burning the budget by hammering the button leaves you waiting even when the record is finally ready. Space the attempts out.

Other games: point the CNAME yourself, nothing to press here

Palworld, Valheim, 7 Days to Die, Enshrouded, Core Keeper and Factorio take a custom domain too. The whole job happens at your domain provider; there is no step on our website.

The reason is simple. These games separate servers by port number, so the port already says which server you mean. The name only has to get the player to the right destination, and once your domain points where our address points, everything downstream is identical.

Three steps:

1. Copy the server address from the "Join the game" box on the Overview tab. It reads name and port together as name:port; take only the name, the part before the :
2. Add a CNAME record at your provider from the name you want to that address
3. Have players use the new name with the same port, e.g. play.yourdomain.com:30157 if your server's port is 30157

The port never changes and is never optional — and read it off your own server's "Join the game" box, because it is a number allocated specifically to your server rather than the game's standard port.

One difference worth knowing: we hold no record that you attached a domain. If you change the server's subdomain later, nothing warns you, and your record quietly points at an address that no longer exists.

Bedrock: the domain works, the port still gets typed

Bedrock servers can take a custom domain too, but Bedrock players enter the address and the port in separate boxes in-game. The domain replaces only the address; the port stays your server's own. The screen says so under the field: "Players use this domain together with the same Bedrock port."

On Bedrock this is pure DNS — there is no routing change on our side at all, unlike Java, where the name is also added to the routing table.

Changing your subdomain will break your domain

This is the trap people hit after a successful attach.

The CNAME in your zone points at the server's platform address, not at the server itself. Change the subdomain and that address is retired at once — as the confirmation warns, "The old address stops working immediately — players will need to connect with the new one." Your record now points at something that no longer exists.

The platform will not repair the record for you, because the domain lives in your account at your provider and we have no access to it. After a subdomain change, go and repoint the CNAME at the new address yourself.

The easier path is to settle the subdomain before attaching your own domain. If your server is an older one showing the "A shorter address is available" banner, claim the new address first: in that case the previous address is not retired. It keeps routing forever and is shown under the field as "Old address still works", so your CNAME survives.

Removing a domain

The "Remove" button beside a connected domain takes that name out of the routing table. Once you confirm with "Remove" in the dialog, players using it cannot connect until you attach it again. Your platform address is unaffected.

Removal does not touch your zone either. If you are done with the name, delete the CNAME at your provider as well.

Who can do this

The server address section is editable by the server owner and by team members granted the settings permission. Members without it can still open the section and read the current address, but the inputs and buttons are disabled.

Read next

• Dashboard tour — the other tabs on the server page
• Share a server with friends — how to grant the settings permission
• Port forwarding — if you are comparing this with hosting at home
• Open a plugin's web page over https:// with a temporary link — for a plugin's web page, such as web voice chat or a web map, rather than joining the game