I’ve been thinking about finally getting myself a proper domain for my server, but a friend told me that to get one I either need a VPS with a public ip (which just takes all the fun out of selfhosting) or purchase a static ip, which is beyond what I’m willing to spend for a hobby. Do I have any good options or should I just let it go?

Also, if this isn’t the correct community for this, I’d appreciate being pointed to the right one, thank you

  • Ada@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    5·
    22 days ago

    Our setup uses a domain pointed at a dynamic (but stable) IP with a script to update it periodically

    • cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      1·
      22 days ago

      One of the better free options is FreeDNS, but you are limited to 5 records.

      If you want your own domain, I would suggest Porkbun. They have an API that can be used for dynamic DNS.

  • drone509@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    4·
    22 days ago

    It is possible to use a dynamic DNS service. They’re typically pretty cheap. I did for several years. It kind of sucked so I rented a VPS.

  • entheo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    22 days ago

    I believe cloudflare has some sort of tunneling option but I’ve never really looked into it, it might get around that.

  • Decronym@lemmy.decronym.xyzBEnglish
    31·
    22 days ago

    Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I’ve seen in this thread:

    Fewer Letters More Letters
    DNS Domain Name Service/System
    IP Internet Protocol
    VPS Virtual Private Server (opposed to shared hosting)

    [Thread #181 for this comm, first seen 18th Mar 2026, 09:30] [FAQ] [Full list] [Contact] [Source code]

  • marud@piefed.marud.frEnglish
    2·
    22 days ago

    If you already have a domain name and don’t want to switch to something else, know that some DNS registrar have an API to handle the domains. For a short period of time I had to rely on this and had a little python script to get my current IP and apply it to every A record in my DNS zone.
    It worked well (but then I took an arrow in the knee had static IP)

  • Svinhufvud@sopuli.xyzEnglish
    1·
    21 days ago

    It is very much possible to have a dynamic IP and a usable domain.

    Both Cloudflare and desec.io (for example) have APIs that you can hit everytime your public IP changes.

    I have a script that checks every minute whether my public IP has changed from the last check, and if it has, an API call will be sent.

    With a scheme like this, your downtime will be minimal, if ever even noticed.

  • eksb@programming.devEnglish
    1·
    22 days ago

    If your home IP does not change often, you can use a dynamic DNS service. But your services will be unavailable from the time that your IP changes and the time the DNS record is updated and the cached responses expire.

  • gravitasAEnglish
    1·
    21 days ago

    While i do use a vps now i started out just using a dyndns domain. You do need to set it to check/update your ipaddress which depends on who you have dns set for your domain. I use a simple bash script called by cron every 15 mins to update the address.