Connect your help center to a custom sub-folder using Cloudflare

Follow this guide to host your Ferndesk help center at a custom subfolder (like yourdomain.com/help) using Cloudflare Workers as a reverse proxy.

Prerequisites

• A Ferndesk workspace with admin access

• A domain you own (already pointed to Cloudflare)

• Basic familiarity with Cloudflare's dashboard

Step 1: Set up the custom subfolder in Ferndesk

First, configure your Ferndesk help center to use a custom subfolder path.

1. Log in to your Ferndesk workspace and navigate to Customize in the left sidebar.

2. Click Custom domain

   

3. Select the Custom sub-folder option (marked as Recommended).

   

1. Enter your domain in the Domain field (e.g., yourdomain.com).

2. Enter your desired subfolder path in the Subdirectory field (e.g., /help or /docs).

3. Click Configure sub-folder.

Step 2: Create a Cloudflare Worker

Now create a new Cloudflare Worker that will act as a reverse proxy.

1. Log in to your Cloudflare dashboard.

2. Under BUILD → Compute & AI, navigate to Workers & Pages from the left sidebar .

   

3. Click Create application in the top right corner.

   

4. Under Start with Hello World!, click Get started.

   

5. Name your Worker something descriptive like ferndesk-reverse-proxy, then click Deploy.

   

Step 3: Configure the worker routes

Set up the routing rule that directs traffic from your custom subfolder to the Cloudflare Worker.

1. In the Worker settings, navigate to the Settings tab.

   

2. Scroll to Domains & Routes and click Add.

   

3. A modal window will open. Select the Route option.

   

4. In the Zone dropdown, select your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com).

5. In the Route field, enter the pattern for your subfolder path. Use *yourdomain.com/help* to capture all requests to the /help path and its subpaths.

6. Leave Failure mode set to Fail closed (block) for security.

7. Click Add route.

   

Step 3b: Adding the _ferndesk route

1. Scroll to Domains & Routes and click Add.

   

2. A modal window will open. Select the Route option.

   

3. In the Zone dropdown, select your domain (e.g., yourdomain.com).

4. In the Route field, enter the pattern for your subfolder path. Use *yourdomain.com/_ferndesk* to capture all requests to the /_ferndesk path and its subpaths.

5. Leave Failure mode set to Fail closed (block) for security.

6. Click Add route.

   

Step 4: Edit the Worker code

Now update the Worker code to handle the reverse proxy logic. The Worker will intercept requests to your subfolder and forward them to Ferndesk.

1. Click Edit code (or access the code editor from the Worker dashboard).

   

2. Replace the entire worker.js code with the reverse proxy script below.

   // ONLY edit these
   
   const HELP_HOST = 'your-slug.hc.ferndesk.com'; // your Ferndesk help center host copied from your dashboard
   const PROXY_PREFIX = '/help'; // the path you want your help center to live on
   
   addEventListener('fetch', (event) => {
   	event.respondWith(handleRequest(event.request));
   });
   
   async function handleRequest(request) {
   	const originalUrl = new URL(request.url);
   
   
   	if (originalUrl.pathname.endsWith('/') && originalUrl.pathname !== '/') {
   		originalUrl.pathname = originalUrl.pathname.slice(0, -1);
   		return Response.redirect(originalUrl.toString(), 301);
   	}
   
   
   	if (
   		originalUrl.pathname !== PROXY_PREFIX &&
   		!originalUrl.pathname.startsWith(`${PROXY_PREFIX}/`) &&
   		!originalUrl.pathname.startsWith('/_ferndesk/')
   	) {
   		return fetch(request);
   	}
   
   	// Build the upstream request with the prefix removed
   	const upstreamUrl = new URL(originalUrl.toString());
   	upstreamUrl.hostname = HELP_HOST;
   
   	if (upstreamUrl.pathname === PROXY_PREFIX) {
   		upstreamUrl.pathname = '/';
   	} else if (upstreamUrl.pathname.startsWith(`${PROXY_PREFIX}/`)) {
   		upstreamUrl.pathname = upstreamUrl.pathname.slice(PROXY_PREFIX.length) || '/';
   	}
   
   	const proxyRequest = new Request(upstreamUrl.toString(), request);
   
   	// CRITICAL: Needed to resolve requests correctly
   	proxyRequest.headers.set('X-Ferndesk-Base-Path', PROXY_PREFIX);
   	proxyRequest.headers.set('X-Forwarded-Host', originalUrl.host);
   	proxyRequest.headers.set('X-Ferndesk-Original-Host', originalUrl.host);
   
   
   	return fetch(proxyRequest);
   }

   Replace HELP_HOST with the actual Ferndesk domain provided when you configured your custom subfolder. Replace PROXY_PREFIX if you're using a different subfolder path (e.g., /docs instead of /help).

3. Click Deploy to publish your changes.

   

Step 5: Verify the setup

Test that your help center is now accessible at your custom subfolder path.

1. Open a new browser tab and navigate to https://yourdomain.com/help.

2. You should see your Ferndesk help center loaded with your branding.

3. Test a few pages by clicking links to ensure navigation works correctly.

Troubleshooting