Cloudflare

This is the provider for Cloudflare.

Important notes

  • SPF records are silently converted to RecordType TXT as Cloudflare API fails otherwise. See StackExchange/dnscontrol#446.

  • This provider currently fails if there are more than 1000 corrections on one domain. This only affects "push". This usually when moving a domain with many records to Cloudflare. Try commenting out most records, then uncomment groups of 999. Typical updates are less than 1000 corrections and will not trigger this bug. See StackExchange/dnscontrol#1440.

Configuration

To use this provider, add an entry to creds.json with TYPE set to CLOUDFLAREAPI.

Optional fields include:

  • accountid and apitoken: Authentication information

  • apikey and apiuser: Old-style authentication

Example:

creds.json
{
  "cloudflare": {
    "TYPE": "CLOUDFLAREAPI",
    "accountid": "your-cloudflare-account-id",
    "apitoken": "your-cloudflare-api-token"
  }
}

Authentication

The Cloudflare API supports two different authentication methods.

NOTE: You can not mix the two authentication methods. If you try, DNSControl will report an error.

API Tokens (recommended)

The recommended (newer) method is to provide a Cloudflare API token.

This method is enabled by setting the apitoken value in creds.json:

creds.json
{
  "cloudflare": {
    "TYPE": "CLOUDFLAREAPI",
    "accountid": "your-cloudflare-account-id",
    "apitoken": "your-cloudflare-api-token"
  }
}

  • accountid is found in the Cloudflare portal ("Account ID") on any "Website" page. Click on any site and you'll see the "Account ID" on the lower right side of the page.

  • apitoken is something you must create. See Cloudflare's documentation for instructions on how to generate and configure permissions on API tokens. (Spoiler alert: link. The token must be granted rights (authorization to do certain tasks) at a very granular level.

DNSControl requires the token to have the following permissions:

  • Add: Read zones (Zone → Zone → Read)

  • Add: Edit DNS records (Zone → DNS → Edit)

  • Add: Enable SSL controls (Zone → SSL and Certificates → Edit)

  • Editing Page Rules?

    • Add: Edit Page Rules (Zone → Page Rules → Edit)

  • Creating Redirects?

    • Add: Edit Single Redirect (Zone → Single Redirect → Edit)

  • Managing Cloudflare Workers? (if manage_workers: set to true or CF_WORKER_ROUTE() is in use.)

    • Add: Edit Worker Scripts (Account → Workers Scripts → Edit)

    • Add: Edit Worker Scripts (Zone → Workers Routes → Edit)

Username+Key (not recommended)

The other (older, not recommended) method is to provide your Cloudflare API username and access key.

This method is not recommended because these credentials give DNSControl access to everything (think of it as "super user" for your account).

This method is enabled by setting the apikey and apiuser values in creds.json:

creds.json
{
  "cloudflare": {
    "TYPE": "CLOUDFLAREAPI",
    "accountid": "your-cloudflare-account-id",
    "apikey": "your-cloudflare-api-key",
    "apiuser": "your-cloudflare-email-address"
  }
}

  • accountid (see above)

  • apiuser is the email address associated with the account.

  • apikey is found on My Profile / API Tokens.

Meta configuration

This provider accepts some optional metadata:

Record level metadata available:

  • cloudflare_proxy ("on", "off", or "full")

Domain level metadata available:

  • cloudflare_proxy_default ("on", "off", or "full")

  • cloudflare_universalssl (unset to leave this setting unmanaged; otherwise use "on" or "off")

    • NOTE: If "universal SSL" isn't working, verify the API key has Zone → SSL and Certificates → Edit permissions. See above.

Provider level metadata available:

  • ip_conversions

  • manage_redirects: set to true to manage page-rule based redirects

  • manage_workers: set to true to manage cloud workers (CF_WORKER_ROUTE)

What does on/off/full mean?

  • "off" disables the Cloudflare proxy

  • "on" enables the Cloudflare proxy (turns on the "orange cloud")

  • "full" is the same as "on" but also enables Railgun. DNSControl will prevent you from accidentally enabling "full" on a CNAME that points to an A record that is set to "off", as this is generally not desired.

You can also set the default proxy mode using DEFAULTS() function. For example:

dnsconfig.js
DEFAULTS(
  CF_PROXY_DEFAULT_OFF // turn proxy off when not specified otherwise
);

Aliases:

To make configuration files more readable and less prone to errors, the following aliases are pre-defined:

dnsconfig.js
// Meta settings for individual records.
var CF_PROXY_OFF = {"cloudflare_proxy": "off"};     // Proxy disabled.
var CF_PROXY_ON = {"cloudflare_proxy": "on"};       // Proxy enabled.
var CF_PROXY_FULL = {"cloudflare_proxy": "full"};   // Proxy+Railgun enabled.
// Per-domain meta settings:
// Proxy default off for entire domain (the default):
var CF_PROXY_DEFAULT_OFF = {"cloudflare_proxy_default": "off"};
// Proxy default on for entire domain:
var CF_PROXY_DEFAULT_ON = {"cloudflare_proxy_default": "on"};
// UniversalSSL off for entire domain:
var CF_UNIVERSALSSL_OFF = { cloudflare_universalssl: "off" };
// UniversalSSL on for entire domain:
var CF_UNIVERSALSSL_ON = { cloudflare_universalssl: "on" };

The following example shows how to set meta variables with and without aliases:

dnsconfig.js
var REG_NONE = NewRegistrar("none");
var DSP_CLOUDFLARE = NewDnsProvider("cloudflare");

D("example.com", REG_NONE, DnsProvider(DSP_CLOUDFLARE),
    A("www1","1.2.3.11", CF_PROXY_ON),        // turn proxy ON.
    A("www2","1.2.3.12", CF_PROXY_OFF),       // default is OFF, this is a no-op.
    A("www3","1.2.3.13", {"cloudflare_proxy": "on"}), // Old format.
);

Usage

An example configuration:

dnsconfig.js
var REG_NONE = NewRegistrar("none");
var DSP_CLOUDFLARE = NewDnsProvider("cloudflare");

// Example domain where the CF proxy abides by the default (off).
D("example.com", REG_NONE, DnsProvider(DSP_CLOUDFLARE),
    A("proxied", "1.2.3.4", CF_PROXY_ON),
    A("notproxied", "1.2.3.5"),
    A("another", "1.2.3.6", CF_PROXY_ON),
    ALIAS("@", "www.example.com.", CF_PROXY_ON),
    CNAME("myalias", "www.example.com.", CF_PROXY_ON),
);

// Example domain where the CF proxy default is set to "on":
D("example2.tld", REG_NONE, DnsProvider(DSP_CLOUDFLARE),
    CF_PROXY_DEFAULT_ON, // Enable CF proxy for all items unless otherwise noted.
    A("proxied", "1.2.3.4"),
    A("notproxied", "1.2.3.5", CF_PROXY_OFF),
    A("another", "1.2.3.6"),
    ALIAS("@", "www.example2.tld."),
    CNAME("myalias", "www.example2.tld."),
);

New domains

If a domain does not exist in your Cloudflare account, DNSControl will automatically add it when dnscontrol push is executed.

Old-style vs new-style redirects

Old-style redirects uses the Page Rules product feature, which is going away. In this mode, CF_REDIRECT and CF_TEMP_REDIRECT functions generate Page Rules.

Enable it using:

var DSP_CLOUDFLARE = NewDnsProvider("cloudflare", {
    "manage_redirects": true,
    "transcode_log": "transcode.log",
});

New redirects uses the Single Redirects product feature. In this mode, CF_REDIRECT and CF_TEMP_REDIRECT functions generates Single Redirects.

Enable it using:

var DSP_CLOUDFLARE = NewDnsProvider("cloudflare", {
    "manage_single_redirects": true
});

New-style redirects ("Single Redirect Rules") are a new feature of DNSControl as of v4.12.0 and may have bugs. Please test carefully.

Conversion mode:

DNSControl can convert from old-style redirects (Page Rules) to new-style redirect (Single Redirects). To enable this mode, set both manage_redirects and manage_single_redirects to true.

The conversion process only handles a few, very simple, patterns. See providers/cloudflare/rtypes/cfsingleredirect/convert_test.go for a list of patterns supported. Please file bugs if you find problems. PRs welcome!

In conversion mode, DNSControl takes CF_REDIRECT/CF_TEMP_REDIRECT statements and turns each of them into two records: a Page Rules and an equivalent Single Redirects rule.

Cloudflare processes Single Redirects before Page Rules, thus it is safe to have both at the same time, and provides an easy way to test the new-style rules. If they do not work properly, use the Cloudflare web-based control panel to manually delete the new-style rule to expose the old-style rule. (and report the bug to DNSControl!)

You'll find the new-style rule in the Cloudflare control panel. It will have a very long name that includes the CF_REDIRECT/CF_TEMP_REDIRECT operands plus matcher and replacement expressions.

There is no mechanism to easily delete the old-style rules. Either delete them manually using the Cloudflare control panel or wait for Cloudflare to remove the old-style Page Rule feature.

Once the conversion is complete, change manage_redirects to false then either delete the old redirects via the CloudFlare control panel or wait for Cloudflare to remove support for the old-style feature.

Cloudflare's announcement says that they will convert old-style redirects (Page Rules) to new-style redirect (Single Redirects) but they do not give an exact date for when this will happen. DNSControl will probably see these new redirects as foreign and delete them.

Therefore it is probably safer to do the conversion ahead of them.

On the other hand, if you let them do the conversion, their conversion may be more correct than DNSControl's. However there's no way for DNSControl to manage them since the automatically-generated name will be different.

If you have suggestions on how to handle this better please file a bug.

Converting to CF_SINGLE_REDIRECT permanently

DNSControl will help convert CF_REDIRECT/CF_TEMP_REDIRECT statements into CF_SINGLE_REDIRECT statements. You might choose to do this if you do not want to rely on the automatic translation, or if you want to edit the results of the translation.

DNSControl will generate a file of the translated statements if you specify a filename using the transcode_log meta option.

var DSP_CLOUDFLARE = NewDnsProvider("cloudflare", {
    "manage_single_redirects": true,
    "transcode_log": "transcode.log",
});

After running dnscontrol preview the contents will look something like this:

transcode.log
D("example.com", ...
    CF_SINGLE_REDIRECT("1,302,https://example.com/*,https://replacement.example.com/$1",
                       302,
                       'http.host eq "example.com"',
                       'concat("https://replacement.example.com", http.request.uri.path)'
    ),
    CF_SINGLE_REDIRECT("2,302,https://img.example.com/*,https://replacement.example.com/$1",
                       302,
                       'http.host eq "img.example.com"',
                       'concat("https://replacement.example.com", http.request.uri.path)'
    ),
    CF_SINGLE_REDIRECT("3,302,https://i.example.com/*,https://replacement.example.com/$1",
                       302,
                       'http.host eq "i.example.com"',
                       'concat("https://replacement.example.com", http.request.uri.path)'
    ),
D("otherdomain.com", ...
    CF_SINGLE_REDIRECT("1,301,https://one.otherdomain.com/,https://www.google.com/",
                       301,
                       'http.host eq "one.otherdomain.com" and http.request.uri.path eq "/"',
                       'concat("https://www.google.com/", "")'
    ),

Copying the statements to the proper place in dnsconfig.js is manual.

Redirects

The Cloudflare provider can manage "Forwarding URL" Page Rules (redirects) for your domains. Simply use the CF_REDIRECT and CF_TEMP_REDIRECT functions to make redirects:

dnsconfig.js
// chiphacker.com should redirect to electronics.stackexchange.com

var REG_NONE = NewRegistrar("none");
var DSP_CLOUDFLARE = NewDnsProvider("cloudflare", {"manage_redirects": true}); // enable manage_redirects

D("chiphacker.com", REG_NONE, DnsProvider(DSP_CLOUDFLARE),
    // ...

    // 302 for meta subdomain
    CF_TEMP_REDIRECT("meta.chiphacker.com/*", "https://electronics.meta.stackexchange.com/$1"),

    // 301 all subdomains and preserve path
    CF_REDIRECT("*chiphacker.com/*", "https://electronics.stackexchange.com/$2"),

    // A redirect must have A records with orange cloud on. Otherwise the HTTP/HTTPS request will never arrive at Cloudflare.
    A("meta", "1.2.3.4", CF_PROXY_ON),

    // ...
);

Notice a few details:

  1. We need an A record with cloudflare proxy on, or the page rule will never run.

  2. The IP address in those A records may be mostly irrelevant, as cloudflare should handle all requests (assuming some page rule matches).

  3. Ordering matters for priority. CF_REDIRECT records will be added in the order they appear in your js. So put catch-alls at the bottom.

  4. if any CF_REDIRECT or CF_TEMP_REDIRECT functions are used then dnscontrol will manage all "Forwarding URL" type Page Rules for the domain. Page Rule types other than "Forwarding URL" will be left alone. In other words, dnscontrol will delete any Forwarding URL it doesn't recognize. Be careful!

Worker routes

The Cloudflare provider can manage Worker Routes for your domains. Simply use the CF_WORKER_ROUTE function passing the route pattern and the worker name:

dnsconfig.js
var REG_NONE = NewRegistrar("none");
var DSP_CLOUDFLARE = NewDnsProvider("cloudflare", {"manage_workers": true}); // enable managing worker routes

D("foo.com", REG_NONE, DnsProvider(DSP_CLOUDFLARE),
    // Assign the patterns `api.foo.com/*` and `foo.com/api/*` to `my-worker` script.
    CF_WORKER_ROUTE("api.foo.com/*", "my-worker"),
    CF_WORKER_ROUTE("foo.com/api/*", "my-worker"),
);

The API key you use must be enabled to edit workers. In the portal, edit the API key, under "Permissions" add "Account", "Workers Scripts", "Edit". Without this permission you may see errors that mention "failed fetching worker route list from cloudflare: bad status code from cloudflare: 403 not 200"

Please notice that if any CF_WORKER_ROUTE function is used then dnscontrol will manage all Worker Routes for the domain. To be clear: this means it will delete existing routes that were created outside of DNSControl.

Integration testing

The integration tests assume that Cloudflare Workers are enabled and the credentials used have the required permissions listed above. The flag -cfworkers=false will disable tests related to Workers. This flag is intended for use with legacy domains where the integration test credentials do not have access to read/edit Workers. This flag will eventually go away.

cd integrationTest              # NOTE: Not needed if already in that subdirectory
go test -v -verbose -provider CLOUDFLAREAPI -cfworkers=false

When -cfworkers=false is set, tests related to Workers are skipped. The Account ID is not required.

Cloudflare special TTLs

Cloudflare plays tricks with TTLs. Cloudflare uses "1" to mean "auto-ttl"; which as far as we can tell means 300 seconds (5 minutes) with the option that CloudFlare may dynamically adjust the actual TTL. In the Cloudflare API, setting the TTL to 300 results in the TTL being set to 1.

If the TTL isn't set to 1, Cloudflare has a minimum of 1 minutes.

A TTL of 0 tells DNSControl to use the default TTL for that provider, which is 1.

In summary:

  • TTL of 0, 1 and 300 are all the same ("auto TTL").

  • TTL of 2-60 are all the same as 60.

  • TTL of 61-299, and 301 to infinity are not magic.

Some of this is documented on the Cloudflare website's Time to Live (TTL) page.

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