Grab a Free '.is-a.dev' Domain for Your Developer Profile

Tired of pointing people to a long, forgettable URL for your portfolio or side project? What if you could have a clean, professional-looking web address that instantly signals you're part of the developer community? That's the idea behind the .is-a.dev domain project.

It's a simple, community-run service that gives you a free subdomain. No complicated setup, no fees—just a quick way to get a sweet-looking link for your personal developer page, project documentation, or a custom redirect.

What It Does

The is-a-dev service provides free subdomains under the .is-a.dev top-level domain. Want yourname.is-a.dev? This project makes it happen. It's essentially a domain registry, but instead of a traditional paid service, it runs entirely through GitHub.

You claim your subdomain by creating a pull request on the project's GitHub repository. Once merged, your custom subdomain is configured to point to wherever you want it—a GitHub Pages site, a Vercel deployment, a Netlify app, or any other hosting service.

Why It's Cool

The clever part is the implementation. The entire registration process is automated using GitHub Actions. When you submit a pull request to add your domain information to a simple JSON file, a workflow automatically validates your request and, once merged, updates the DNS records. It's infrastructure as code applied to domain management.

This approach makes it transparent and community-driven. You can see every registered subdomain, and the entire process is open source. The .is-a.dev TLD itself has a nice, declarative feel to it, perfect for personal branding. It's a straightforward solution to a common need without overcomplicating things.

How to Try It

Getting your own subdomain is a straightforward process:

1. Fork the Repository: Head over to the is-a-dev/register GitHub repository and fork it.
2. Add Your Domain: In your fork, create a new file in the domains directory named after your desired subdomain (e.g., cooldev.json).
3. Configure the Record: Populate the file with a JSON object specifying where your domain should point. For example, to point to a GitHub Pages site, your file would look like this:

   {
     "description": "My awesome portfolio",
     "repo": "https://github.com/yourusername/your-repo",
     "owner": {
       "username": "your-github-username"
     },
     "record": {
       "CNAME": "yourusername.github.io"
     }
   }
   

4. Submit a Pull Request: Commit your changes and open a pull request to the main repository. The maintainers will review it, and once merged, your new cooldev.is-a.dev domain will be live.

For more detailed instructions and other configuration options (like pointing to an IP address), check the project's README.md.

Final Thoughts

This is a neat, practical project that solves a real problem for developers in a very GitHub-native way. It's not about replacing a custom domain you'd use for a serious business, but it's perfect for your personal developer identity, a fun side project, or a landing page. It's low-friction, cost-free, and just kind of cool. If you've been putting off creating a personal site because the domain was a hurdle, this is your sign to just go for it.

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