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70 - Tools/cloudflare/cloudflare-overview.md

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+---
+title: Cloudflare
+description: Tool overview for Cloudflare as a DNS, edge, and access platform in self-hosted environments
+tags:
+  - cloudflare
+  - dns
+  - edge
+category: tools
+created: 2026-03-14
+updated: 2026-03-14
+---
+
+# Cloudflare
+
+## Summary
+
+Cloudflare is an edge platform commonly used for DNS hosting, proxying, TLS, tunnels, and access control. In self-hosted environments, it is often the public-facing layer in front of privately managed infrastructure.
+
+## Why it matters
+
+Cloudflare can reduce operational burden for public DNS, certificates, and internet exposure. It becomes especially useful when services need a controlled edge while the underlying infrastructure remains private or partially private.
+
+## Core concepts
+
+- Authoritative DNS hosting
+- Proxy mode for HTTP and selected proxied traffic
+- Zero Trust and Access controls
+- Tunnels for publishing services without opening inbound ports directly
+- CDN and caching features for web workloads
+
+## Practical usage
+
+Cloudflare commonly fits into infrastructure like this:
+
+```text
+Client -> Cloudflare edge -> reverse proxy or tunnel -> application
+```
+
+Typical uses:
+
+- Public DNS for domains and subdomains
+- Cloudflare Tunnel for selected internal apps
+- Access policies in front of sensitive web services
+
+## Best practices
+
+- Keep public DNS records documented and intentional
+- Use tunnels or private access controls for admin-facing services when appropriate
+- Understand which services are proxied and which are DNS-only
+- Review TLS mode and origin certificate behavior carefully
+
+## Pitfalls
+
+- Assuming proxy mode works identically for every protocol
+- Forgetting that Cloudflare becomes part of the trust and availability path
+- Mixing internal admin services with public publishing defaults
+- Losing track of which records are authoritative in Cloudflare versus internal DNS
+
+## References
+
+- [Cloudflare Docs](https://developers.cloudflare.com/)
+- [Cloudflare Learning Center: What is DNS?](https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/dns/what-is-dns/)
+- [Cloudflare Zero Trust documentation](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/)