Quick Start Guide

Get BindCaptain up and running in minutes with this step-by-step guide.

Prerequisites

• Supported Linux distribution (RHEL, CentOS, Rocky, AlmaLinux, Fedora)
• Root access for system setup
• Network connectivity for DNS resolution

Step 1: Clone BindCaptain

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/bindcaptain.git
cd bindcaptain

Step 2: System Setup

Run the automated system setup script:

sudo ./tools/system-setup.sh

This script will:

• ✅ Detect your Linux distribution
• ✅ Install Podman and required packages
• ✅ Configure firewall and SELinux
• ✅ Install BindCaptain system-wide
• ✅ Set up systemd service

Step 3: Configure DNS Zones

Set up your DNS configuration:

sudo ./tools/config-setup.sh wizard

Follow the interactive wizard to:

• ✅ Create your domain zone
• ✅ Set up reverse DNS zones
• ✅ Configure BIND settings
• ✅ Generate zone files

Step 4: Build and Run Container

Build the BindCaptain container:

sudo ./bindcaptain.sh build

Start the DNS service:

sudo ./bindcaptain.sh run

Step 5: Verify Installation

Check that everything is running:

# Check container status
sudo ./bindcaptain.sh status

# Test DNS resolution
dig @localhost example.com
nslookup example.com localhost

Step 6: Manage DNS Records

Load the Chief plugin (works locally on the DNS host with BC_HOST unset, and remotely from a workstation when BC_HOST is set):

source ./chief-plugin/bc_chief-plugin.sh
# or, when installed: source /opt/bindcaptain/chief-plugin/bc_chief-plugin.sh

Create your first DNS record:

bc.create webserver.example.com 192.168.1.100

See DNS Operations for the full command reference, including the in-container manager primitives (bc.create_record, etc.) for direct host-local use.

Next Steps

• DNS Operations - Learn advanced DNS management
• Configuration Management - Customize your setup
• Troubleshooting - Common issues and solutions

Quick Commands Reference

# Container management
sudo ./bindcaptain.sh build    # Build container
sudo ./bindcaptain.sh run      # Start service
sudo ./bindcaptain.sh stop     # Stop service
sudo ./bindcaptain.sh status   # Check status

# DNS management — Chief plugin (recommended; works local + remote)
source ./chief-plugin/bc_chief-plugin.sh
bc.create host.domain.com 192.168.1.100
bc.list   domain.com
bc.delete host.domain.com

Troubleshooting

Container won’t start

# Check logs
sudo podman logs bindcaptain

# Check configuration
sudo ./bindcaptain.sh validate

DNS not resolving

# Check BIND status
sudo ./bindcaptain.sh status

# Test configuration
sudo named-checkconf /path/to/your/named.conf

Permission issues

# Ensure proper ownership
sudo chown -R root:root /opt/bindcaptain
sudo chmod +x /opt/bindcaptain/tools/*.sh

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Need help? Check the Troubleshooting Guide or Manual Setup for unsupported distributions.