Custom CDN domains

By default your files are served from files.docbeam.io. On Pro and Unlimited you can serve them from a subdomain you control instead — files.yourbrand.com, downloads.clientsite.com, whatever suits.

For agencies handing a site to a client, this is usually the point: nothing in the URL says DocBeam.

Before you start

You’ll need Pro or Unlimited. Free and Starter don’t include custom domains.
Only the Library’s billing owner can configure one — the account whose subscription pays for that Library. Everyone else sees a read-only view.
Use a subdomain, not a bare domain. files.yourbrand.com works; yourbrand.com is not what this is for.
You’ll need access to your domain’s DNS to add a CNAME record.

Adding the domain

In the DocBeam dashboard, open the Library and go to Domain & Settings.
Under Custom CDN Domain, type your subdomain into Your domain.
Click Add domain.

The domain is created with the status Pending DNS — DocBeam is now waiting for you to point it at us.

Domain format rules

The field is strict on purpose, because a malformed hostname fails silently at the DNS level and is miserable to debug. It must be:

Lowercase, with no http:// or https://
No path, query string, port or trailing dot
Not an IP address, and no wildcards
At least two labels (files.yourbrand.com, not files)
Each label 1–63 characters of letters, digits and hyphens, not starting or ending with a hyphen

docbeam.io and docvault.io are reserved and will be rejected.

Creating the DNS record

DocBeam shows you the exact record to create. In your DNS provider, add:

Field	Value
Type	`CNAME`
Name	the subdomain you entered
Target	the value shown in the dashboard card

The target in production is files.docbeam.io, but copy it from the dashboard rather than typing it from memory — the card always shows the correct value for your environment.

DNS changes can take anywhere from a couple of minutes to a few hours to propagate, depending on your provider and TTL.

Watching it verify

The status card walks through four states:

Status	Meaning
Pending DNS	Waiting for you to create the CNAME
Verifying	DocBeam can see the record and is provisioning a certificate
Verified & active	Live — your files are being served from your domain
Failed	Verification gave up; see below

While it’s verifying, the dashboard refreshes itself every ten seconds. You can also hit Verify now to force a check, though it’s rate-limited to once every ten seconds.

After 24 unsuccessful attempts the domain moves to Failed and stops retrying:

Verification gave up after 24 attempts. Reconfigure your CNAME and re-add the domain.

That’s almost always a CNAME that’s missing, pointing somewhere else, or shadowed by another record on the same name. Fix the record, remove the domain in DocBeam, and add it again.

Once a domain reaches Verified & active it stays there. Verification stops running — there’s nothing left to check.

What changes when it goes live

Your existing links keep working. Requests to the default URL https://files.docbeam.io/<your-site>/<file> redirect to https://yourdomain.com/<file>, so anything already published on your site, in an email, or on a printed flyer still resolves.

One thing to know: DocBeam still shows and copies the default URL. The Files table’s Copy button gives you the files.docbeam.io address, not your custom one. That address redirects correctly, so nothing is broken — but if you want the branded URL on your page, write it by hand:

https://yourdomain.com/<file-slug>

Note there’s no site segment in the custom-domain URL. Your domain is already specific to one Library, so the path is just the file’s slug.

Removing a domain

Removing is not plan-gated — if you downgrade from Pro, you can still remove a domain you configured earlier, so nothing gets stranded.

When you remove it:

Files revert to the default files.docbeam.io URL, and links using that address keep working.
Links using your custom domain stop resolving.
It can’t be undone. Re-adding means going through DNS verification again.

If you’re working in the Designer panel

Custom domains are configured in the dashboard only. The Designer panel’s Settings section isn’t the place to do this — use the dashboard’s Domain & Settings page.