How to run DuckDNS on your own server

Keeps your free duckdns.org address pointing at this server. You supply the token. Cresdock runs it on a server you own, from a catalogue, with no Docker and no reverse proxy to configure.

What Cresdock does for you with DuckDNS

Installed, started and kept running for you — no Dockerfile, no compose file, no reverse-proxy configuration to write.
Reached through your panel login. There is no second password to invent for DuckDNS and no port to open on your firewall.
Two things only you can know — your duckdns subdomain, duckdns token — are asked once on the install form and kept for every rebuild afterwards.
DuckDNS keeps your web address pointing at this machine. No other app here reads from it, and none needs to.

Why run DuckDNS yourself

Tools like this see everything on your network by design, which is exactly why it is worth them being yours rather than someone else's service.

What kind of server DuckDNS needs

Barely registers. These run comfortably on the smallest server you can rent, and are usually installed alongside something bigger rather than on their own.

Cresdock itself is undemanding — it runs on a small rented server, an old desktop or a mini PC, on Ubuntu or Debian. Everything it installs shares that machine, so the honest question is not "will this app run" but "how much am I going to put on here in total".

Where to run DuckDNS

DuckDNS runs wherever Cresdock runs, and the choice is about the machine, not the app:

At home, on hardware you already own. A mini PC, an old desktop or a NAS that can run Debian. Cresdock works behind a home router with no port forwarding and no domain, so DuckDNS is reachable on your own network first and from outside only if you choose.
On a rented server. A small VPS is enough for most apps and is the usual answer when DuckDNS should be reachable from anywhere. The setup guide covers the specs and the one-command install.
Through a provider that runs Cresdock. Hosting companies deploy Cresdock workspaces for their customers, so DuckDNS can come with a server you rent rather than one you set up — ask your provider, or see how providers offer it.

Installing DuckDNS

Put Cresdock on a server
One line on any Ubuntu or Debian machine — a rented VPS, a spare PC, a home server. It sets itself up.
Pick DuckDNS from the catalogue
Click Install. The panel pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets a certificate and starts it.
Open it from your dashboard
Its address and any login details are on its card. Start, stop, update, roll back or remove it from the same place, any time.

What's left for you to do

Cresdock does not pretend to do the parts that are genuinely yours to decide. After it's running:

Your DuckDNS web address now follows this server automatically
Use yourname.duckdns.org anywhere you would have typed an address — it keeps working even after the address changes
It updates itself every few minutes; there is nothing to open

What this replaces

Doing it by hand means writing something like this, then keeping it working:

services:
  duckdns:
    image: lscr.io/linuxserver/duckdns:af6dcae5-ls86
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "80:80"
    environment:
      - PUID=1000
      - PGID=1000
      - TZ=Etc/UTC
    volumes:
      - ./duckdns/config:/config

And that is the easy half. Still to do:

Install a reverse proxy and write a server block for it
Get a TLS certificate and set up automatic renewal
Create the folders above with the right ownership, or it will not start
Repeat all of it for the next app, and again on every server rebuild

On Cresdock, DuckDNS is one click and none of the above exists.

Common questions

Do I need to know Docker to run DuckDNS?

No. Cresdock installs DuckDNS in one click from its catalogue: it pulls the image, writes the configuration, gets an HTTPS certificate and starts it. DuckDNS runs on the tenant's own private network, reachable through the panel login and nothing else.

What happens to my DuckDNS data when it updates?

Cresdock updates the DuckDNS image and leaves its stored data in place. DuckDNS keeps its own files in its own folder, which survives an update, a rebuild and a reinstall — and Cresdock never writes into it.

Can I run DuckDNS at home instead of on a VPS?

Yes. Cresdock runs on a mini PC, an old desktop or anything that boots Debian, behind a normal home router with no port forwarding, and DuckDNS is reachable on your own network first. A rented server is only needed when DuckDNS must be reachable from anywhere without a VPN.

Can I remove DuckDNS later?

Yes. Cresdock removes DuckDNS in one click, and asks whether to keep its configuration for a future reinstall. Nothing else you have installed is affected.

Looking for what DuckDNS itself can do? That lives in its own documentation — this page is only about running it.

Pairs well with: LibreSpeed · SmokePing · dufs

Before you start: where to rent a server · what it needs to run · Cresdock vs Cloudron