---
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/)