--- description: Enable Smart Shield and configure origin protection features for your domain. title: Get started image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png --- [Skip to content](#main-content) > Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Get started Last updated Aug 24, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/get-started/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/) Smart Shield reduces the load on your origin server and improves content delivery by consolidating requests through Cloudflare's caching infrastructure. It is available to all customers as an opt-in configuration. ## Before you begin * You must have a Cloudflare account and [onboard your domain](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/manage-domains/add-site/). * Verify that DNS records for the domain you want to protect are set to [proxied](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/dns/proxy-status/). Smart Shield operates within Cloudflare's reverse proxy, so traffic from DNS-only records is not routed through it. ## Steps 1. Log in to the [Cloudflare dashboard ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/), and select your account and domain. 2. Go to **Speed** \> **Smart Shield**. 3. (Optional) Explore the different [available packages](#packages-and-availability). 4. Select **Get started for free** or choose a different package and select **Continue** to proceed to the guided onboarding flow. After setup, you can monitor origin performance and cache effectiveness through the [Observatory](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/speed/observatory/) dashboard. ## Packages and availability Pro, Business, and Enterprise customers have access to [Health Checks](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/health-checks/) for monitoring origin availability across all packages. Enterprise customers have access to all Smart Shield packages, including Smart Shield Advanced. ### Smart Shield The base package for reducing origin load through caching and connection optimization. * Includes [Smart Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/smart-tiered-cache/) and [Connection Reuse](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/concepts/connection-reuse/). ### Smart Shield + Argo Adds network path optimization on top of the base package. Use when visitors are geographically distant from the origin server. * Includes [Smart Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/smart-tiered-cache/), [Connection Reuse](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/concepts/connection-reuse/), and [Argo Smart Routing](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/argo/). ### Smart Shield Advanced The full package with additional caching customization through regional and persistent storage options. * Includes [Smart Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/smart-tiered-cache/), [Connection Reuse](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/concepts/connection-reuse/), [Argo Smart Routing](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/argo/), [Regional Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/regional-tiered-cache/), and [Cache Reserve](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/cache-reserve/). Enterprise customers have access to [Regional Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/regional-tiered-cache/) as part of their plan, regardless of which Smart Shield package they use. Enterprise customers also have the option to configure [Dedicated CDN Egress IPs](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/dedicated-egress-ips/), allowing you to increase origin security by only allowing traffic from a small list of IP addresses. If you are interested, reach out to your account team. Free, Pro, and Business customers can purchase Smart Shield and Smart Shield + Argo packages. ### Smart Shield The base package for reducing origin load through caching and connection optimization. * Includes [Smart Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/smart-tiered-cache/) and [Connection Reuse](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/concepts/connection-reuse/). ### Smart Shield + Argo Adds network path optimization on top of the base package. Use when visitors are geographically distant from the origin server. * Includes [Smart Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/smart-tiered-cache/), [Connection Reuse](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/concepts/connection-reuse/), and [Argo Smart Routing](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/argo/). ### Smart Shield Advanced Smart Shield Advanced is not currently available for Free, Pro, and Business customers. If you are interested in Smart Shield Advanced features such as [Regional Tiered Cache](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/regional-tiered-cache/) and [Cache Reserve](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/configuration/cache-reserve/), contact our [Enterprise Sales team ↗](https://www.cloudflare.com/resource/contact-enterprise-sales/). ## Further reading * [Network diagram](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/concepts/network-diagram/) * [Connection reuse](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/concepts/connection-reuse/) Was this helpful? YesNo ## On this page [![](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/_astro/logo.te5VL_aD.svg)Docs](https://e8aee267.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/get-started/#page","headline":"Get started · Cloudflare Smart Shield docs","description":"Enable Smart Shield and configure origin protection features for your domain.","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/smart-shield/get-started/","inLanguage":"en","image":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png","dateModified":"2026-08-24","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Cloudflare","url":"https://www.cloudflare.com/"},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/#website","name":"Cloudflare Docs","url":"https://developers.cloudflare.com/"}} ```