Verification Guide

To register or change a listing, NessGate asks you to prove you control your domain. When you submit the form on the homepage, you receive a unique code that looks like:

nessgate-verification=7f82a19c41d0…

Place that code using any one of the three options below, then click Verify Now. The code expires after 60 minutes and works once. After successful verification you can remove the file, record, or field — it is only needed during the check.

Is this safe? Yes — here is exactly what happens

Verification is deliberately designed so that there is nothing to trust us with. NessGate:

• never asks for passwords, API keys, or hosting credentials — there is nothing to enter anywhere on this site except your domain and a URL;
• never gets access to your server, DNS account, or code — you make the change yourself, in your own systems;
• never asks you to install or execute anything — no scripts, no plugins, no agents;
• only performs a read-only public lookup — a single HTTPS GET of a public URL, or a public DNS TXT query. These are the same requests any browser or DNS resolver on the Internet can already make against your site.

The verification code itself is a random string with no meaning. It is not a key, it grants no access to anything, and it expires within 60 minutes. The worst thing that can ever happen from placing it is that someone reads a random string — which is why the same technique (a token in /.well-known/ or a DNS TXT record) is the industry standard used by Google Search Console, Let's Encrypt, and Microsoft 365 for domain verification. You can delete the file or record immediately after verifying.

Option A — a file on your website

Create a plain-text file at:

https://yourdomain.com/.well-known/nessgate-verification.txt

containing exactly your code, e.g. nessgate-verification=7f82a19c41d0…

Typical hosting setups

Check yourself: open the file's URL in a browser. If you can see the code, so can NessGate.

Option B — a DNS TXT record (works with every provider)

Add a TXT record in your domain's DNS settings:

Where to find DNS settings at major providers

DNS changes usually appear within a few minutes but can take up to an hour. You can check with nslookup -type=TXT _nessgate.yourdomain.com or any online DNS lookup tool before clicking Verify Now.

Option C — a field inside your JSON file

Available when your JSON is hosted on the domain itself (e.g. https://example.com/data.json or www). If your file lives on another subdomain such as data.example.com, use Option A or B — ownership of a domain must be proven from the domain itself, never from a subdomain.

Add one top-level field to the JSON file you are registering:

{
  "nessgate_verification": "YOUR_CODE",
  "...": "your existing data stays unchanged"
}

This is the fastest option if you can already edit the JSON file, since it proves control of the exact file you're registering. Remove the field after verification if you wish.

What should your JSON contain? Anything you want

NessGate enforces no schema. Your file only needs to be valid JSON — the structure, field names, and depth are entirely yours, because modern AI models can read any reasonable format. Describe what makes your business useful to an AI: who you are, what you offer, how to reach you, where to find more.

If you'd like a starting point, here are three optional examples. Copy one, replace the values with your own, delete what doesn't apply, and add whatever is missing — none of these fields are required, and you may also reuse schema.org vocabulary if you prefer.

{
  "name": "Acme GmbH",
  "legal_name": "Acme Industries GmbH",
  "description": "Industrial pump manufacturer serving 40 countries.",
  "founded": 1985,
  "headquarters": "Stuttgart, Germany",
  "industries": ["manufacturing", "industrial equipment"],
  "products": [
    {
      "name": "AquaFlow 300",
      "category": "centrifugal pumps",
      "url": "https://acme.example/products/aquaflow-300"
    }
  ],
  "certifications": ["ISO 9001"],
  "contact": { "sales": "sales@acme.example", "phone": "+49 711 000000" },
  "updated": "2026-09-08"
}

{
  "name": "Sunrise Coffee",
  "description": "Specialty coffee roaster with worldwide shipping.",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "shipping_regions": ["EU", "UK", "US"],
  "catalog_url": "https://sunrise.example/products.json",
  "bestsellers": [
    {
      "name": "Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 250g",
      "price": 12.90,
      "sku": "ETH-250",
      "url": "https://sunrise.example/p/eth-250"
    }
  ],
  "returns_policy": "https://sunrise.example/returns",
  "support": "help@sunrise.example",
  "updated": "2026-09-08"
}

{
  "name": "Fairfax Dental Care",
  "description": "Family dental clinic.",
  "services": ["checkups", "orthodontics", "implants"],
  "address": "123 Main St, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA",
  "hours": { "mon-fri": "08:00-18:00", "sat": "09:00-13:00" },
  "phone": "+1 703 000 0000",
  "booking_url": "https://fairfaxdental.example/book",
  "insurance_accepted": ["Delta Dental", "Cigna"],
  "languages": ["English", "Spanish"],
  "updated": "2026-09-08"
}

Tip: an "updated" date helps AI systems judge freshness, and keeping the file small and factual beats marketing copy — but again, this is your file and your call.

Updating or removing a listing

No account exists, so every change is proven the same way: submit the domain again on the homepage (with the new JSON URL to update, or use "Remove a listing" to delete), receive a fresh code, place it, and verify. The new pointer replaces the old one.

Troubleshooting