pages.gay

Yes. pages.gay can be self-hosted if you have your own Gitea or Forgejo server. The site states this directly and points you to its documentation to get started. So if you already run Gitea or Forgejo and want the same "push a repo, get a static site" workflow on your own infrastructure, self-hosting is a supported path.

What you need before starting

• A Gitea or Forgejo instance you control. These are the two platforms named as the self-hosting requirement. A plain Git server or a different forge is not what the documentation targets.
• Access to that server's configuration and the ability to run additional services. Self-hosting pages.gay means running the pages service alongside your forge, not just enabling a checkbox inside Gitea/Forgejo.
• The official docs. The site says to "follow the docs to get started if taking that approach" — the exact install steps live there, not in the marketing copy.

How self-hosting relates to the hosted service

The hosted pages.gay is built around git.gay repositories. The same model applies when self-hosted: your forge hosts the repo, and the pages service turns branches into sites.

How sites are structured (so you know what you're replicating)

Understanding the hosted behavior tells you what your self-hosted setup needs to reproduce:

• User site: create a public repository named pages on the forge, add static files to the main branch, and the site appears at user.pages.gay.
• Project site: in any repository, create an empty branch named pages, and the site appears at user.pages.gay/repo.
• Caching: pages.gay uses a cache, so updates may take a few minutes. A hard refresh (Ctrl + Shift + R) can force a cache update.
• Custom domains: add a .domains file in the same branch as your page content, then point DNS at the service. For subdomains, a CNAME to [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay. For apex domains, an A record to 213.210.34.143, an AAAA record to 2a0f:9400:6906:1977::143, and a TXT record containing [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay.

Choosing between hosted and self-hosted

• Self-host if you already operate Gitea/Forgejo, want the service on your own infrastructure, or need control that the hosted offering doesn't give you.
• Use the hosted service if you don't run your own forge and just want a site live in minutes — creating a repo on git.gay and pushing files is the whole setup.

The site does not publish self-hosting pricing, resource requirements, or a step-by-step install guide in the material available here. For the actual installation procedure, follow the documentation linked from pages.gay.

pages.gay serves your site through a cache, so changes you push may not appear for a few minutes. If your files are already pushed to the right repository and branch, wait a few minutes, then hard-refresh the page with Ctrl + Shift + R. If the changes still don't show, the problem is usually that the files landed in the wrong place rather than the cache.

First, rule out the cache

pages.gay explicitly notes that it uses a cache and that updates may not occur for a few minutes. A hard refresh (Ctrl + Shift + R) forces your browser to fetch a fresh copy instead of reusing what it stored.

Try this order:

1. Wait a few minutes after pushing.
2. Hard-refresh with Ctrl + Shift + R.
3. If you still see the old version, open the site in a private/incognito window to bypass your normal browser cache.
4. If the private window shows the new version, the cache was the cause.

Then check that your files are in the right place

If a hard refresh doesn't help, the push itself is the likely culprit. pages.gay builds the page from a specific repository and branch, so a file pushed to the wrong branch will never appear.

The location depends on which kind of page you're building:

Common mistakes to check:

• User page: the repository must be named pages and must be public. Files on a branch other than main won't be served.
• Project page: the branch must be named exactly pages. If you created it as an empty branch, confirm your files were actually committed and pushed to it, not just to main.
• Push actually completed: a commit that only exists locally won't change anything. Confirm the push succeeded.

Verify the change reached the server

A quick way to separate "my push failed" from "the cache is stale" is to look at the file directly in the repository on git.gay. If the new content is there but the site shows the old content, it's the cache. If the repository still shows the old content, your push didn't land where you think it did.

Custom domain changes not showing

If you're troubleshooting a custom domain rather than page content, the setup is different. You need a .domains file in the repository, in the same branch as your page's content, containing the domain you want to use.

Then add DNS records:

• Subdomain: a CNAME record pointing to [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay.
• Apex domain (where CNAME doesn't work): an A record pointing to 213.210.34.143, an AAAA record pointing to 2a0f:9400:6906:1977::143, and a TXT record with the content [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay.

DNS changes have their own propagation delay, so a domain that isn't resolving yet may simply need time, separate from the pages.gay cache.

Quick checklist

• Files pushed to the correct repo and branch (main in a public pages repo for a user page; a pages branch for a project page)?
• Waited a few minutes?
• Hard-refreshed with Ctrl + Shift + R?
• Tried a private window to rule out browser cache?
• For custom domains: .domains file present in the same branch, and DNS records added?

pages.gay is a static site hosting service built around git.gay repositories. You keep your HTML, CSS, fonts, and images in a repo, and pages.gay publishes them as a live website at user.pages.gay or user.pages.gay/repo. It's aimed at people who want a project page online in minutes without running a server, and it can also be self-hosted if you run your own Gitea or Forgejo instance.

How publishing works

The model is simple: your repository is the source of truth, and pages.gay serves whatever static files you push to the relevant branch.

• User site: create a public repository named pages on git.gay. Your files go on the main branch, and the site appears at user.pages.gay.
• Project site: in any repository, create a new empty branch named pages. The site appears at user.pages.gay/repo.

In both cases you upload your static files — HTML, CSS, fonts, images, and anything else — and push to the repo. There's no build step described in the source material, so this is for files that are already ready to serve.

A caching caveat worth knowing

pages.gay uses a cache, so updates may not show up for a few minutes after you push. If you need to see a change immediately, a hard refresh (Ctrl + Shift + R) forces a cache update. Plan for this if you're iterating quickly or verifying a deploy.

Custom domains

To serve a site on your own domain, add a .domains file to your repository — in the same branch as the page's content — containing the domain you want to use. Then configure DNS:

Apex domains need the A/AAAA/TXT combination because CNAME records don't work at the apex.

Self-hosting

If you have your own Gitea or Forgejo server, pages.gay can be self-hosted. The source material points to the docs for that setup rather than describing the steps, so treat the hosted git.gay flow and the self-hosted flow as separate paths and follow the docs if you go the self-hosted route.

Who this fits

pages.gay suits you if:

• Your site is already static — plain HTML/CSS/assets with no server-side rendering.
• You're comfortable with Git and want deployment to be "push to a branch."
• You want a free-looking, low-friction home for a personal or project page tied to a git.gay account.

It's less suited to sites that need a build pipeline, server-side logic, or instant cache-free updates on every push.

You can publish a static site on pages.gay by creating a repository on git.gay and pushing your files to it. There are two paths: a user site, which uses a public repository named pages, or a project site, which uses an empty branch named pages inside an existing repository. Your site then appears at user.pages.gay or user.pages.gay/repo. The whole setup takes minutes, and no build step is required — pages.gay serves the static files you push.

Before you start

• A git.gay account (pages.gay is built around git.gay repositories).
• Static files ready to upload: HTML, CSS, fonts, images, and anything else the site needs.
• Basic familiarity with git — creating a repo, creating a branch, and pushing commits.
• Optional: a custom domain if you don't want to use the default pages.gay subdomain.

Option 1: A user site at user.pages.gay

1. On git.gay, create a public repository named pages.
2. Add your static files to the main branch.
3. Push to the repository.
4. Your site is available at user.pages.gay, where user is your git.gay username.

The repository name is what matters here — it must be pages, and it must be public.

Option 2: A project site at user.pages.gay/repo

1. Open the repository for your project.
2. Create a new empty branch named pages.
3. Add your static files to that branch.
4. Push the branch.
5. Your site is available at user.pages.gay/repo, where repo is the repository name.

This keeps the site content separate from your project's main branch, so your source code and your published files don't mix.

Caching: why your update isn't showing

pages.gay uses a cache, so changes may not appear for a few minutes after you push. If you need to see an update immediately, force a cache refresh with a hard refresh in your browser: Ctrl + Shift + R. If the change still doesn't appear, confirm you pushed to the correct branch — main for a user site, pages for a project site.

Using a custom domain

To point your own domain at a pages.gay site:

1. In the same branch that holds your page content, create a file named .domains containing the domain you want to use.

2. Add a DNS CNAME record on your domain pointing to:

   [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay
   

3. For apex domains, where CNAME records don't work, add these records instead:

   • An A record pointing to 213.210.34.143
   • An AAAA record pointing to 2a0f:9400:6906:1977::143
   • A TXT record with the content [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay

Replace [branch], [repo], and [user] with your actual branch name, repository name, and git.gay username.

Self-hosting

If you run your own Gitea or Forgejo server, pages.gay can be self-hosted. The project's documentation covers that setup path — follow it if you'd rather not depend on the hosted service.

Quick reference

Common snags

• Repo isn't public or isn't named pages — the user site won't be created.
• Branch name mismatch — a project site needs the branch named exactly pages; a user site expects content on main.
• Files not pushed — pages.gay serves what's in the repository, so local-only files won't appear.
• Stale content — wait a few minutes or hard-refresh before assuming something is broken.
• Apex domain not resolving — CNAME records don't work at the apex, so use the A, AAAA, and TXT records listed above.

Create a .domains file in the same branch as your page's content, containing the domain you want to use, then point your DNS at pages.gay. For subdomains, add a CNAME record to [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay. For apex domains, where CNAME records don't work, add an A record to 213.210.34.143, an AAAA record to 2a0f:9400:6906:1977::143, and a TXT record containing [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay.

Step 1: Add the domain to your repository

In the branch that holds your page's content, create a file named .domains. Put the domain you want to use inside it.

The file must live in the same branch as the content it applies to. If your site is served from the pages branch, the .domains file goes there too — not on main.

Step 2: Choose your DNS records based on domain type

The record type depends on whether you're using a subdomain (like www.example.com) or an apex/root domain (like example.com).

Replace [branch], [repo], and [user] with your actual branch name, repository name, and git.gay username. For example, if your user is alice, the repo is blog, and the branch is pages, the CNAME target is pages.blog.alice.pages.gay.

Why apex domains need three records

CNAME records can't be placed at the apex of a domain, so pages.gay uses A and AAAA records to route traffic to its servers directly. The TXT record carries the same [branch].[repo].[user].pages.gay value so the service can verify which site the domain belongs to.

Step 3: Wait for DNS and cache

After saving your DNS changes, propagation can take time depending on your registrar. pages.gay also uses a cache, so updates may not appear for a few minutes. If your changes aren't showing, hard-refresh with Ctrl + Shift + R to force a cache update.

Common issues

• .domains file in the wrong branch — it must sit in the same branch as the page content, or the domain won't be associated with the site.
• CNAME used on an apex domain — most DNS providers reject this. Use the A, AAAA, and TXT combination instead.
• Placeholder values left in — [branch].[repo].[user] must be replaced with your real values in both the .domains file and the DNS records.
• Changes not appearing immediately — this is usually the cache, not a misconfiguration. Hard-refresh before troubleshooting further.

If you're self-hosting pages.gay on your own Gitea or Forgejo server, the setup follows the same pattern, but you'll need to follow the project's docs for the server-side configuration.