External URLs
How resources get HTTPS endpoints and how to access them.
When a Worker, Container, or Daemon declares a named public endpoint, Alien creates an HTTPS endpoint for that resource endpoint.
Alien creates the infrastructure — the customer's network controls who can reach it. Depending on how the customer configures their environment, the same endpoint could be:
- On the public internet — for receiving webhooks from SaaS services like GitHub, Stripe, or Slack
- Available only to employees — behind a VPN or private DNS (
tool.corp.internal), for dashboards and admin interfaces - Available only to other services — as an internal API that other services in the customer's environment call over HTTP
What Gets Created
Each platform sets up the endpoint differently:
| Platform | Infrastructure | URL Format |
|---|---|---|
| AWS | API Gateway or load balancer, depending on resource type | Provider hostname or generated domain |
| GCP | Cloud Run or HTTPS load balancer, depending on resource type | Provider hostname or generated domain |
| Azure | Container Apps or Application Gateway, depending on resource type | Provider hostname or generated domain |
Getting the URL
From the manager API:
GET /v1/deployments/:id/infoReturns publicEndpoints per resource, keyed by endpoint name.
Use Cases
- AI APIs — expose an inference endpoint in the customer's cloud that your control plane calls
- Webhooks — receive callbacks from third-party services (Stripe, GitHub, Slack)
- Internal tools — customer employees access dashboards or admin interfaces
- Microservices — other services in the customer's environment call your Worker over HTTP
Custom Domains
Customers can use their own domain and TLS certificate instead of the auto-generated cloud URL. This is configured per-deployment via stack settings:
{
"domains": {
"customDomains": {
"api": {
"domain": "api.corp.megacorp.internal",
"certificate": {
"aws": { "certificateArn": "arn:aws:acm:us-east-1:..." }
}
}
}
}
}Platform-specific certificate references:
| Platform | Certificate Source |
|---|---|
| AWS | ACM certificate ARN |
| GCP | Certificate Manager certificate name |
| Azure | Key Vault certificate ID |
Alien handles certificate import and load balancer configuration. The customer manages DNS.