---
title: Local Domain Setup Instructions
category: development
subcategory: full-stack
---

This document covers how to set up your local development environment to recognize wildcard domains with SSL. Developing the full Dockerized stack for PocketHost requires these steps.

**1. Generate a root certificate for self-signing.**

```bash
cd ssl
./create-ca.sh
```

**2. Manually approve the self-signed certificate in your browser.**

For FireFox OS X, do this:

1. Open settings page.
2. Search for "cert"
3. Click `View Certificates`
4. Move to the `Authorities` tab
5. Import `ca.crt`

For other browsers and operating systems, follow the instructions here: https://github.com/BenMorel/dev-certificates

**3. Generate a wildcard domain cert for `pockethost.test`**

```
./create-certificate pockethost.test
```

**4. Configure your machine to recognize wildcard localhost domains.**

If you are on OS X, follow the [dnsmasq instructions](/docs/development/full-stack/dnsmasq/) to set up your local machine for the ultimate local domain wildcard dev experience.

Remember to start `dnsmasq` every time:

```bash
brew services restart dnsmasq
```

If you don't want to use `dnsmasq`, follow the [manual /etc/hosts setup instructions](/docs/development/full-stack/etc_hosts/).