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Cloudflare Setup for Taminator Documentation

Step-by-Step: Adding taminator.dev to Cloudflare

1. Add Site to Cloudflare

  1. Log in to Cloudflare Dashboard
  2. Click "Add a Site" (or "+ Add Site" button)
  3. Enter your domain: taminator.dev
  4. Click "Add Site"

2. Select Plan

  • Choose Free plan (sufficient for documentation site)
  • Click "Continue"

3. Review DNS Records

Cloudflare will scan your existing DNS records (if any).

For GitLab Pages deployment:

Add these DNS records:

Type Name Content Proxy Status TTL
A @ 35.185.44.232 Proxied (orange cloud) Auto
CNAME www taminator.dev Proxied (orange cloud) Auto
TXT _gitlab-pages-verification-code your-verification-code DNS only (grey cloud) Auto

GitLab Pages IPs (if needed): - 35.185.44.232 - 35.244.142.54 - 35.202.148.191 - 35.222.29.236

Click "Continue"

4. Change Nameservers

Cloudflare will provide nameservers like: 

bob.ns.cloudflare.com
sue.ns.cloudflare.com

Update nameservers at your domain registrar:

  1. Log in to Namecheap
  2. Go to Domain List → Manage
  3. Find "NAMESERVERS" section
  4. Select "Custom DNS"
  5. Enter Cloudflare nameservers
  6. Save
  1. Log in to GoDaddy
  2. Go to My Products → Domains
  3. Click DNS next to your domain
  4. Click "Change" next to Nameservers
  5. Select "Custom"
  6. Enter Cloudflare nameservers
  7. Save
  1. Log in to Google Domains
  2. Select your domain
  3. Click "DNS" in left sidebar
  4. Scroll to "Name servers"
  5. Select "Use custom name servers"
  6. Enter Cloudflare nameservers
  7. Save

Propagation Time: 2-48 hours (usually < 1 hour)

5. Configure SSL/TLS

After nameservers are active:

  1. Go to SSL/TLS tab
  2. Set SSL/TLS encryption mode: Full (strict)
  3. Enable these features:
  4. ✅ Always Use HTTPS
  5. ✅ Automatic HTTPS Rewrites
  6. ✅ Minimum TLS Version: 1.2

6. Configure GitLab Pages

In your GitLab project (jbyrd/taminator):

  1. Go to Settings → Pages
  2. Click "New Domain"
  3. Enter: taminator.dev
  4. Copy the verification TXT record
  5. Add it to Cloudflare DNS (see step 3)
  6. Click "Create New Domain"
  7. Repeat for www.taminator.dev

7. Configure Page Rules (Optional but Recommended)

Go to Rules → Page Rules in Cloudflare:

Rule 1: Redirect www to apex - URL: www.taminator.dev/* - Setting: Forwarding URL (301 Permanent Redirect) - Destination: https://taminator.dev/$1

Rule 2: Force HTTPS - URL: http://taminator.dev/* - Setting: Always Use HTTPS

8. Performance Optimization

Caching: - Go to Caching → Configuration - Set Caching Level: Standard - Browser Cache TTL: Respect Existing Headers

Auto Minify: - Go to Speed → Optimization - Enable: - ✅ JavaScript - ✅ CSS - ✅ HTML

Brotli Compression: - Go to Speed → Optimization - Enable: ✅ Brotli

9. Update mkdocs.yml

site_url: https://taminator.dev

10. Deploy

cd /home/jbyrd/TAMINATOR
mkdocs build
mkdocs gh-deploy  # Or GitLab Pages deploy

Verification Checklist

After setup complete:

  • Domain resolves to GitLab Pages
  • SSL certificate active (green padlock)
  • http:// redirects to https://
  • www.taminator.dev redirects to taminator.dev
  • Documentation site loads correctly
  • All navigation links work

Troubleshooting

"ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS"

  • Cause: SSL/TLS mode mismatch
  • Fix: Set to Full (strict) in Cloudflare SSL/TLS settings

"521 Web Server Is Down"

  • Cause: GitLab Pages not configured correctly
  • Fix: Verify DNS records and GitLab Pages domain settings

"525 SSL Handshake Failed"

  • Cause: GitLab Pages certificate not ready
  • Fix: Wait 10-15 minutes for certificate provisioning

Domain Not Resolving

  • Cause: Nameserver propagation not complete
  • Fix: Wait up to 48 hours, check with dig taminator.dev NS

Quick Reference Commands

# Check nameservers
dig taminator.dev NS

# Check DNS A record
dig taminator.dev A

# Check SSL certificate
curl -vI https://taminator.dev

# Test HTTPS redirect
curl -I http://taminator.dev

Alternative: GitHub Pages Setup

If using GitHub Pages instead of GitLab Pages:

DNS Records: | Type | Name | Content | Proxy Status | |------|------|---------|--------------| | A | @ | 185.199.108.153 | Proxied | | A | @ | 185.199.109.153 | Proxied | | A | @ | 185.199.110.153 | Proxied | | A | @ | 185.199.111.153 | Proxied | | CNAME | www | USERNAME.github.io | Proxied |

GitHub Pages Settings: 1. Go to repository Settings → Pages 2. Enter custom domain: taminator.dev 3. Enable "Enforce HTTPS" 4. Verify DNS check passes

Next Steps: Once domain is active, deploy the documentation site!

cd /home/jbyrd/TAMINATOR
mkdocs build
# Push to GitLab/GitHub Pages