---
description: This tutorial covers how to use a Cloudflare Worker to add custom headers to traffic. The headers will be sent to origin services protected by Cloudflare Access.
title: Create custom headers for Cloudflare Access-protected origins with Workers
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/og-docs.png
---

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# Create custom headers for Cloudflare Access-protected origins with Workers

Last updated Aug 25, 2026|Copy as Markdown|[View as Markdown](https://sm-rtk-allowlist-page.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/tutorials/access-workers/index.md)|[Agent setup](https://sm-rtk-allowlist-page.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

This tutorial covers how to use a [Cloudflare Worker](https://sm-rtk-allowlist-page.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/workers/) to add custom HTTP headers to traffic, and how to send those custom headers to your origin services protected by [Cloudflare Access](https://sm-rtk-allowlist-page.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/access-controls/policies/).

Some applications and networking implementations require specific custom headers to be passed to the origin, which can be difficult to implement for traffic moving through a Zero Trust proxy. You can configure a Worker to send the [user authorization headers](https://sm-rtk-allowlist-page.previews.developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/access-controls/applications/http-apps/authorization-cookie/) required by Access.

---

## Before you begin

* Secure your origin server with Cloudflare Access

## Before you begin

1. In the [Cloudflare dashboard ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/), go to the **Workers & Pages** page.  
[Go to **Workers & Pages** ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/workers-and-pages)
2. If this is your first Worker, select **Create Worker**. Otherwise, select **Create application**, then select **Create Worker**.
3. Enter an identifiable name for the Worker, then select **Deploy**.
4. Select **Edit code**.
5. Input the following Worker:

```js
export default {
	async fetch(request, env, ctx) {
		const { headers } = request;
		const cfaccessemail = headers.get("cf-access-authenticated-user-email");

		const requestWithID = new Request(request);
		requestWithID.headers.set("company-user-id", cfaccessemail);

		return fetch(requestWithID);
	},
};
```

```ts
export default {
	async fetch(request, env, ctx): Promise<Response> {
		const { headers } = request;
		const cfaccessemail = headers.get("cf-access-authenticated-user-email");

		const requestWithID = new Request(request);
		requestWithID.headers.set("company-user-id", cfaccessemail);

		return fetch(requestWithID);
	},
} satisfies ExportedHandler<Env>;
```

1. Select **Save and deploy**.

Your Worker is now ready to send custom headers to your Access-protected origin services.

## Apply the Worker to your hostname

1. Select the Worker you created, then go to **Triggers**.
2. In **Routes**, select **Add route**.
3. Enter the hostname and zone for your origin, then select **Add route**.

The Worker will now insert a custom header into requests that match the defined route. For example:

```http
"Accept": "text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/avif,image/webp,image/apng,*/*;q=0.8,application/signed-exchange;v=b3;q=0.7",
    "Accept-Encoding": "gzip",
    "Accept-Language": "en-US,en;q=0.9",
    "Cf-Access-Authenticated-User-Email": "user@example.com",
    "Company-User-Id": "user@example.com",
    "Connection": "keep-alive"
```

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