diff --git a/cluster/applications/couchdb/ingress-public.yaml b/cluster/applications/couchdb/ingress-public.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..410ff7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cluster/applications/couchdb/ingress-public.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# FILE: cluster/applications/couchdb/ingress-public.yaml
+# DESCRIPTION: External ingress for CouchDB — communicore.mk-labs.cloud only.
+#              Separate from the Helm-managed internal ingress so each cert
+#              has the correct CN for its hostname. CN validation in Obsidian
+#              Sync requires CN=communicore.mk-labs.cloud on the public cert.
+# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
+kind: Ingress
+metadata:
+  name: couchdb-public
+  namespace: couchdb
+  annotations:
+    cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: "letsencrypt-prod"
+    external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/hostname: "communicore.mk-labs.cloud"
+    external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/target: "ingress.mk-labs.cloud"
+    external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/public: "true"
+spec:
+  ingressClassName: nginx
+  rules:
+    - host: communicore.mk-labs.cloud
+      http:
+        paths:
+          - path: /
+            pathType: Prefix
+            backend:
+              service:
+                name: couchdb-svc-couchdb
+                port:
+                  number: 5984
+  tls:
+    - secretName: couchdb-tls-public
+      hosts:
+        - communicore.mk-labs.cloud
diff --git a/cluster/applications/couchdb/values.yaml b/cluster/applications/couchdb/values.yaml
index 0f8d1a7..1630b12 100644
--- a/cluster/applications/couchdb/values.yaml
+++ b/cluster/applications/couchdb/values.yaml
@@ -53,24 +53,21 @@ service:
   type: ClusterIP
   port: 5984
 
-# Ingress configuration
+# Ingress configuration — internal only
+# External access via separate ingress manifest (ingress-public.yaml)
+# which carries its own cert with CN=communicore.mk-labs.cloud
 ingress:
   enabled: true
   className: nginx
   annotations:
     cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: "letsencrypt-prod"
     external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/hostname: "communicore.local.mk-labs.cloud"
-    external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/target: "ingress.mk-labs.cloud"
-    # Opt in to public Cloudflare DNS — creates communicore.mk-labs.cloud -> ingress.mk-labs.cloud
-    external-dns.alpha.kubernetes.io/public: "true"
   hosts:
     - communicore.local.mk-labs.cloud
-    - communicore.mk-labs.cloud
   tls:
     - secretName: couchdb-tls
       hosts:
         - communicore.local.mk-labs.cloud
-        - communicore.mk-labs.cloud
 
 # Resource limits
 resources: