Where Can I Find Step-By-Step Directions For Making My FreedomBox Publicly Accessible From The Web?

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1

I recently received my FreedomBox Pioneer, connected it to my router, accessed it privately, and successfully set up my admin and personal accounts. I also created a new domain name (johnclint.net) using Google Domains. I want people who type johnclint.net into their web browsers to land on my Freedom Box plinth. Can anyone point me to step-by-step instructions for doing that? Thanks!

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  1. First, you should go to https://ddns.freedombox.org/ip and set the IP that you see as an A record for your domain.
  2. You should then log in to your router’s admin interface and assign a static local IP address to your FreedomBox. Once you’ve done that, look for DMZ or Port Forwarding. If there’s DMZ, go for it, otherwise set up port forwarding for your FreedomBox’s IP on port 80 and port 443.
    This is what it may look like:

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  1. At this point, if everything went well, you should test your connection: preferably from another network, like your phone’s mobile internet, try to visit your domain. If it’s reachable, then you can proceed with further configurations. Your public IP address will likely change, so you will have to use for example this script to keep the A record up-to date. Let’s see how this goes first. :slight_smile:
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3

Hey, Benedek! Thanks for your help. After a bit of experimentation, I got it to work. :smiling_face:

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Congratulations!
Now you have to make sure that your A record is up-to-date with your always changing public IP address.

  1. Now you should log in to your FreedomBox using SSH or use the Terminal in the Cockpit App (FreedomBox >> System >> Cockpit).
  2. Download the script I linked above: $sudo apt install git && git clone https://gist.github.com/5a7b715665f33c237996.git
  3. nano 5a7b715665f33c237996/google-domains-dynamic-dns-update.sh
  4. Add your credentials and domain name to the script, and make sure that you append -4 after the word dig making it IP=$( dig -4 +short myip.opendns.com @resolver1.opendns.com ). This is to force the script to return an IPv4 address. (It’s been a long time since I used this script and I don’t remember if the password is your Google account’s password or and app password you generate in our Google Domains interface. You have to do your own trial and error here.)
  5. Save the file and make it executable: $chmod +x 5a7b715665f33c237996/google-domains-dynamic-dns-update.sh
  6. Automate it with cron: run $crontab -e and add this line at the end of the file:
    * * * * * /home/YOURUSERNME/5a7b715665f33c237996/google-domains-dynamic-dns-update.sh
  7. Go to the FreedomBox interface and add your domain name in System >> Configure
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This is probably beyond my skill level, but I’ll give it a try.

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Feel free to ask for help if you get stuck. I can detail my explanation if you need.