Custom Domains

DAMP gives every project its own beautiful local domain using the Windows hosts file. Access your sites with clean URLs like myapp.local instead of localhost:8080.

How It Works

When you create a new site named "myapp", DAMP automatically:

Default .local Domain

By default, DAMP uses the .local top-level domain:

Project Name: myapp
          ↓
Generated Domains:
  • https://myapp.local       (main site)
  • https://vite.myapp.local  (Vite dev server for React/Vue)

Benefits

Domain Features

Automatic Hosts File Management

DAMP uses the hostie utility to manage your Windows hosts file:

127.0.0.1   myapp.local
127.0.0.1   vite.myapp.local
127.0.0.1   blog.local
127.0.0.1   vite.blog.local
127.0.0.1   shop.local
127.0.0.1   vite.shop.local

• ✅ Automatic Addition - Domains added when sites are created
• ✅ Automatic Removal - Domains cleaned up when sites are deleted
• ✅ Admin Privileges - Uses UAC elevation for secure modification
• ✅ Safe Operations - No manual editing or typos

Vite Dev Server Support

For React, Vue, and other Vite-based projects, DAMP creates an additional domain:

Main Site:        https://myapp.local       → PHP/Laravel
Vite Dev Server:  https://vite.myapp.local  → React/Vue Hot Reload

This allows you to:

• Access backend API at myapp.local
• Access frontend at vite.myapp.local
• Keep hot module reloading working
• Maintain separate HTTPS certificates

Customizable Domain Extension

Want to use a different domain extension? You can configure it!

Change Default Domain

How Domains Resolve

Here's the complete flow when you access myapp.local:

1. Browser Request
   └─> User types: https://myapp.local
          │
          ↓
2. DNS Resolution
   └─> Windows checks hosts file
   └─> Finds: 127.0.0.1 myapp.local
          │
          ↓
3. Local Connection
   └─> Browser connects to localhost:443
          │
          ↓
4. Caddy Reverse Proxy
   └─> Caddy receives request
   └─> Forwards to: myapp_devcontainer:8080
          │
          ↓
5. Your Application
   └─> PHP app responds
          │
          ↓
6. Response
   └─> Caddy returns response to browser ✅

Multi-Site Benefits

With custom domains, running multiple projects is seamless:

Running Projects:
  🌐 portfolio.local      (PHP 8.2 + MySQL)
  🌐 blog.local           (PHP 8.1 + MySQL)
  🌐 shop.local           (PHP 8.3 + PostgreSQL)
  🌐 api.local            (PHP 8.2 + Redis)

Each project:

• Has its own unique domain
• Runs in isolation
• Uses different PHP/database versions
• Can be accessed simultaneously

Cleanup on Delete

When you delete a site, DAMP automatically:

1. ✅ Removes domain from hosts file
2. ✅ Removes vite subdomain from hosts file
3. ✅ Updates Caddy configuration
4. ✅ Stops and removes containers
5. ✅ Cleans up Docker volumes (if requested)

Troubleshooting