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lc tunnel

Create secure tunnels to expose your local services to the internet. Perfect for sharing demos, webhooks, and collaborative development.

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Usage

lc tunnel <command> [flags]

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Commands

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lc tunnel start

Start a tunnel to expose local services publicly. 
# Tunnel specific services
lc tunnel start --api --db --storage

# Tunnel custom services
lc tunnel start --service api:3000 --service docs:8080

# Auto-detect and tunnel all running services
lc tunnel start --auto-detect

# Use specific tunnel provider
lc tunnel start --provider cloudflare --api

# Tunnel with custom domain (requires setup)
lc tunnel start --domain myapp.example.com --api
Flags:
  • --api - Expose API service
  • --db - Expose database service
  • --storage - Expose storage service (MinIO)
  • --service <name:port> - Expose custom service
  • --auto-detect - Auto-detect running services
  • --provider <name> - Tunnel provider (cloudflare, ngrok)
  • --domain <domain> - Custom domain (if configured)
  • --subdomain <name> - Custom subdomain
  • --auth <user:pass> - Basic authentication

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lc tunnel stop

Stop running tunnels. 
# Stop all tunnels
lc tunnel stop

# Stop specific tunnel
lc tunnel stop --name api-tunnel

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lc tunnel list

List active tunnels. 
lc tunnel list

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lc tunnel status

Show tunnel status and URLs. 
lc tunnel status

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Tunnel Providers

Features:
  • Completely free
  • No account required for quick tunnels
  • Stable URLs with free account
  • Built-in DDoS protection
  • Global CDN
Setup: 
# Install cloudflared (if not already installed)
# macOS
brew install cloudflared

# Linux
curl -L https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-amd64.deb -o cloudflared.deb
sudo dpkg -i cloudflared.deb

# Start tunnel
lc tunnel start --provider cloudflare --api

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Ngrok

Features:
  • Easy setup
  • Good documentation
  • Stable service
Setup: 
# Get auth token from ngrok.com
export NGROK_AUTH_TOKEN=your_token_here

# Start tunnel
lc tunnel start --provider ngrok --api

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Multi-Service Tunneling

LocalCloud supports tunneling multiple services through a single tunnel with intelligent routing:

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Path-Based Routing

# Start multi-service tunnel
lc tunnel start --api --db --storage

# Services are accessible via:
# https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/         - Landing page
# https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/api/    - API service
# https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/db/     - Database admin
# https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/storage/ - Storage console

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Custom Services

# Tunnel custom services
lc tunnel start --service frontend:3000 --service backend:8080 --service docs:4000

# Accessible via:
# https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/frontend/
# https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/backend/
# https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/docs/

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Auto-Detection

# Automatically detect and tunnel all running services
lc tunnel start --auto-detect

# LocalCloud will scan for:
# - HTTP services on common ports
# - LocalCloud services (API, DB, Storage)
# - Custom services defined in config

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Service Dashboard

When tunneling multiple services, LocalCloud provides a dashboard at the root URL: 
https://your-tunnel-url.com/

Services Available:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LocalCloud Services                             │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 🚀 API Service        /api/       [Running]     │
│ 🗄️  Database Admin    /db/        [Running]     │
│ 📦 Storage Console    /storage/   [Running]     │
│ 📄 Documentation     /docs/      [Running]     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Authentication

Protect your tunnels with basic authentication: 
# Add basic auth to tunnel
lc tunnel start --api --auth admin:secret123

# Access requires username/password
# Username: admin
# Password: secret123

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Advanced Configuration

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Custom Domains

For stable URLs, configure custom domains: 
# Cloudflare (requires domain setup)
lc tunnel start --provider cloudflare --domain api.myapp.com --api

# Create named tunnel for persistence
lc tunnel start --provider cloudflare --name myapp-tunnel --domain api.myapp.com --api

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Environment-Specific Tunnels

# Development tunnel
lc tunnel start --api --subdomain dev-myapp

# Staging tunnel  
lc tunnel start --api --subdomain staging-myapp

# Demo tunnel with auth
lc tunnel start --api --subdomain demo-myapp --auth demo:password

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Use Cases

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Development & Testing

# Share API for frontend testing
lc tunnel start --api

# Share full stack for demo
lc tunnel start --api --storage --service frontend:3000

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Webhooks

# Expose API for webhook testing
lc tunnel start --api --subdomain webhook-test

# Use tunnel URL in webhook configuration
# https://webhook-test.trycloudflare.com/api/webhooks

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Collaborative Development

# Share development environment
lc tunnel start --auto-detect --auth team:password

# Team members can access:
# - API for testing
# - Database for queries
# - Storage for files

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Mobile App Development

# Tunnel API for mobile testing
lc tunnel start --api --subdomain mobile-api

# Use tunnel URL in mobile app
# https://mobile-api.trycloudflare.com/api/

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Health Checks

LocalCloud automatically adds health checks to tunneled services: 
# Check service health
curl https://your-tunnel-url.com/api/health

# Response:
{
  "status": "healthy",
  "service": "api",
  "timestamp": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z",
  "uptime": "2h 15m"
}

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Security Considerations

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Best Practices

  1. Use Authentication: Always add auth for sensitive services
  2. Temporary Tunnels: Use tunnels for development/testing only
  3. Monitor Access: Check tunnel logs regularly
  4. Rotate Credentials: Change auth passwords frequently

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Example Secure Setup

# Secure tunnel with auth and limited services
lc tunnel start --api --auth "$(openssl rand -base64 12):$(openssl rand -base64 12)"

# Monitor tunnel access
lc tunnel logs --follow

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Troubleshooting

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Tunnel Connection Issues

Error: failed to connect to tunnel provider
Solutions:
  • Check internet connection
  • Verify tunnel provider is available
  • Try different provider: --provider ngrok

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Service Not Accessible

Error: service not reachable through tunnel
Solutions:
  • Verify service is running: lc status
  • Check service port is correct
  • Ensure no firewall blocking connection

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Authentication Required

Error: NGROK_AUTH_TOKEN not set
Solutions:
  • Get token from ngrok.com
  • Set environment variable: export NGROK_AUTH_TOKEN=your_token
  • Use Cloudflare instead: --provider cloudflare

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Configuration Examples

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Development Team Setup

# .localcloud/tunnel.yaml
tunnels:
  dev:
    provider: cloudflare
    services:
      - api:3001
      - frontend:3000
    auth: dev:devpass123
    
  staging:
    provider: cloudflare
    domain: staging.myapp.com
    services:
      - api:3001
    auth: staging:stagepass456

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Webhook Testing

# .localcloud/tunnel.yaml
tunnels:
  webhooks:
    provider: cloudflare
    subdomain: webhook-test
    services:
      - api:3001
    persistent: true

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Examples

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Basic API Tunnel

# Start API service
lc start api

# Create tunnel
lc tunnel start --api

# Output:
# 🚀 Tunnel created successfully!
# 
# API Service: https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/api/
# Dashboard:   https://abc123.trycloudflare.com/
#
# Press Ctrl+C to stop tunnel

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Multi-Service Demo

# Start all services
lc start

# Create comprehensive tunnel
lc tunnel start --auto-detect --auth demo:password

# Share URL with team:
# https://demo123.trycloudflare.com/
# Username: demo
# Password: password

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Mobile Development

# Start API for mobile app
lc start api

# Create stable tunnel
lc tunnel start --api --subdomain myapp-mobile

# Use in mobile app:
# Base URL: https://myapp-mobile.trycloudflare.com/api/