Tunneling Options

Overview

Tunneling exposes your local server (localhost:8000) to the internet.

ngrok

Free Tier

# Random URL each time
ngrok http 8000

Pros: Quick setup, no account needed Cons: URL changes, limited time

Paid Tier

# Custom subdomain
ngrok http --domain=myapp.ngrok.io 8000

# Basic auth
ngrok http 8000 --auth="user:password"

Cloudflare Tunnel

Setup

# Install
brew install cloudflare/cloudflare/cloudflared

# Login
cloudflared tunnel login

# Create tunnel
cloudflared tunnel create my-devserver

# Run
cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8000

With Config File

# ~/.cloudflared/config.yml
tunnel: my-devserver
ingress:
  - hostname: dev.mydomain.com
    service: http://localhost:8000
  - service: http_status:404

Tailscale Funnel

# Install Tailscale first
tailscale funnel 8000

Pros: Persistent URL, free Cons: Requires Tailscale account

LocalTunnel

npm install -g localtunnel
lt --port 8000 --subdomain myapp

URL: https://myapp.loca.lt

Bore

bore local 8000 --to bore.pub

Simple, no signup required.

Comparison

Tool	Custom Domain	Free Tier	Persistent URL	Auth
ngrok	Paid only	Yes (limited)	Paid only	Yes
Cloudflare	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tailscale	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
LocalTunnel	Subdomain	Yes	Sometimes	No
Bore	No	Yes	No	No

Security Tips

1. Always use auth for sensitive projects:

   ngrok http 8000 --auth="user:pass"
   

2. Whitelist IPs when possible:

   ngrok http 8000 --cidr-allow 192.168.1.0/24
   

3. Use HTTPS (automatic with most tunnels)

4. Monitor access:

   # ngrok dashboard
   http://localhost:4040
   

Which to Choose?

• Quick demo: ngrok free
• Long-term project: Cloudflare Tunnel
• Team access: Tailscale
• Simple/temp: Bore or LocalTunnel