Real cPanel/WHM ships a “DNS Only” build: the same software running in a restricted mode as a secondary nameserver for a Main server. We wanted the same shape here: one codebase, gated down at both install and runtime.
Install-time
The server bootstrap gained a DNS-only role setting. Set it, and the script skips the hosting and mail stack entirely while still installing the app itself, and installs a smaller DNS setup that starts empty until linked to a Main server.
Runtime gating, twice over
The server’s role drives enforcement in two independent places. Hiding navigation links alone was already found insufficient once before on a different feature, so it isn’t trusted here either: a default-deny allowlist of reachable routes, enforced server-side regardless of what the navigation shows.
Linking
Adding a DNS-only server on the Main server’s Manage Servers page generates a one-time linking token. Pasting it into the DNS-only server’s first-run setup screen completes the link with one authenticated call, with no manual configuration on either end.
Keeping zones in sync
Zone content always stays authored on the Main server. Standard DNS replication covers content for zones the secondary already knows about, but can’t discover a brand-new zone, so two mechanisms work together: a queued, retried job on every zone create and delete, and a periodic reconciliation sweep as a backstop. A DNS-only server’s DNS Replication page is deliberately read-only.
Verified
The local test suite and code-style checks pass. End to end, a DNS-only server on a disposable test box was linked to a disposable Main server through the wizard, a hosting account was created on the Main server, and its zone arrived on the DNS-only server without touching either filesystem by hand.