# Dev Server to the Public | webally.co.za

How to offer temporary access to your development server to anyone on the Internet.

At some point you may want to show someone else the project you've been working on. Fortunately, there are a couple of good tools to accomplish this, localhost.run and Ngrok. Both create a tunnel to your dev server and (by default) auto-generate an internet address on their respective servers to offer to your clients or anyone special you'd like to show your work to.

Opening your dev server to the public poses security risks. Be absolutely cautious when using tools like this.

When you've finished with your demonstration or testing, make sure to stop localhost.run or ngrok. This will prevent any unwanted access of your computer through them.

# Using localhost.run (easiest)

Assuming you have an SSH shell, you only need issue the following command (substituting your details)

$ ssh -R 80:localhost:8080 ssh.localhost.run
# In case your development server doesn't run on port 8080 you need to change the number to the correct port

That's it, and you will now have a random subdomain based on your current system username assigned to you like so:

$ ssh -R 80:localhost:8080 ssh.localhost.run
Connect to http://fakeusername-random4chars.localhost.run or https://fakeusername-random4chars.localhost.run
Press ctrl-c to quit.

It's not currently possible to request your own subdomain.

# 6.8.2 Using Ngrok

Download and install ngrok here. (Please note that the ngrok executable file does not need to be placed in or run from inside your cordova folder. When on a mac it's best to place the ngrok executable file inside /usr/local/bin to be able to run it globally.)
Start your Dev server

quasar dev

Create your ngrok connection

$ ngrok http 8080
# In case your development server doesn't run on port 8080 you need to change the number to the correct port

ngrok shows the url in the command line when it started.

Tunnel Status                 online
Version                       2.0/2.0
Web Interface                 http://127.0.0.1:4040
Forwarding                    http://92832de0.ngrok.io -> localhost:8080
Forwarding                    https://92832de0.ngrok.io -> localhost:8080

Connections                  ttl     opn     rt1     rt5     p50     p90
                              0       0       0.00    0.00    0.00    0.00

Please be careful as the 'Forwarding' URL will be accessible to anyone until this connection is closed again.

# Inspecting traffic

When running ngrok, visit http://localhost:4040 to inspect the traffic.

This tool allows for custom domains, password protection and a lot more. If you require further assistance, please refer to the ngrok docs for more information.

dev tools js frontend backend devtools quasar test public