How to Get an is-a.dev Subdomain and Use It with Vercel

If you want a free, developer-friendly domain for your projects, is-a.dev is one of the best choices. It integrates well with modern hosting platforms like Vercel, costs nothing, and is maintained by an active open-source community.

In this guide, you’ll learn exactly how to:

Register a custom yourname.is-a.dev subdomain
Configure Vercel to use it
Add the required DNS files through GitHub
Get your new domain live and working

This is the most complete and SEO-optimized guide you’ll find — perfect for beginners and developers deploying side projects.

✅ What Is is-a.dev?

is-a.dev is a free domain service for developers that allows you to register subdomains like:

taylor.is-a.dev

Instead of paying for a custom domain, you just submit your DNS configuration through a GitHub pull request — and once approved, your subdomain goes live.

It's perfect for:

Personal websites
Portfolio sites
API endpoints
Vercel apps
Open-source projects

🚀 Step 1 — Set Up Your Vercel Project

Before connecting your domain, ensure you have a Vercel project deployed.

If you don’t have one yet, follow Vercel’s official guide:

👉 https://vercel.com/docs/getting-started-with-vercel

Once deployed, you’re ready to bind a custom subdomain to your project.

🌐 Step 2 — Add Your is-a.dev Subdomain in Vercel

Open the Vercel Dashboard.
Go to your project → Settings → Domains.
Click Add Domain.
Enter your desired subdomain, e.g.:

example.is-a.dev

Continue through the settings; if unsure, hit Save.
Select Continue manually.
Copy the TXT verification value Vercel generates — you’ll use this later.

This TXT record proves you own the domain.

🪵 Step 3 — Fork the is-a.dev Registry

Go to the is-a.dev registration repo:

👉 https://github.com/is-a-dev/register

Click Fork to create your own editable copy.

📁 Step 4 — Create the Required DNS Files

Inside your forked repo, open the /domains folder.

You must create two JSON files.

📌 File 1 — Your primary domain configuration

Create:

your-subdomain.json

Example: example.json

Add this JSON (update values accordingly):

{
    "owner": {
        "username": "your-github-username",
        "email": "your-email@example.com"
    },
    "records": {
        "A": ["216.198.79.1"]
    }
}

⚠️ Important: The A record varies. Use the exact IP address Vercel assigns you.

📌 File 2 — Vercel verification record

Create:

_vercel.your-subdomain.json

Example: _vercel.example.json

Paste this (replace with your TXT record):

{
    "owner": {
        "username": "your-github-username",
        "email": "your-email@example.com"
    },
    "records": {
        "TXT": "your-vercel-txt-verification-string"
    }
}

This step verifies domain ownership with Vercel.

🔀 Step 5 — Submit Your Pull Request

After saving the two files:

Commit your changes.
Open a pull request to the main repository: 👉 https://github.com/is-a-dev/register

Once submitted, your PR will be reviewed.

Want a faster review?

Join their community Discord: 👉 https://discord.gg/is-a-dev-830872854677422150

Send your PR link once in #pull-requests.

🌍 Step 6 — Wait for Merge & Confirm Your Domain

When your PR is merged:

Your DNS records become active
Your Vercel domain will validate
Your site will be accessible at yourname.is-a.dev

If it still redirects to the is-a.dev homepage, try:

Clearing your browser cache
Opening in private mode
Waiting for DNS propagation (usually fast)

🎉 Final Thoughts

Using is-a.dev with Vercel gives you:

✔ A professional subdomain ✔ Zero cost ✔ Easy configuration via GitHub ✔ A clean, trusted domain for developers

It’s one of the simplest ways to give your Vercel project a custom URL without buying a domain.