Introduction to ngrok

ngrok is a powerful tool that enables developers to expose their local servers to the internet either for testing or sharing purposes.

Getting Started with ngrok API

Installation

  
    # Install ngrok using npm
    npm install -g ngrok
  

Creating HTTP Tunnels

  
    import ngrok from 'ngrok';

    (async function() {
      const url = await ngrok.connect(3000);
      console.log('Tunnel URL:', url);
    })();
  

Authenticating Your Account

  
    await ngrok.authtoken('YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN'); // Replace with your ngrok auth token
  

Inspecting Traffic

ngrok provides a web interface to inspect and replay the requests:

  
    console.log('Inspect URL:', ngrok.getApiUrl());
  

Advanced Tunneling Options

  
    const tunnel = await ngrok.connect({
      addr: 3000,
      proto: 'http',
      auth: 'user:password',
      subdomain: 'mysubdomain',
      region: 'us'
    });
    console.log('Advanced Tunnel URL:', tunnel);
  

Managing Tunnels

  
    // Stopping a tunnel
    await ngrok.disconnect(url);

    // Listing active tunnels
    const tunnels = await ngrok.active();
    console.log('Active Tunnels:', tunnels);
  

Example: Building a Node.js App with ngrok

Let’s create a simple Node.js application that uses ngrok to expose a local web server.

  
    const express = require('express');
    const ngrok = require('ngrok');

    const app = express();
    const port = 3000;

    app.get('/', (req, res) => {
      res.send('Hello, world!');
    });

    app.listen(port, async () => {
      const url = await ngrok.connect(port);
      console.log(`App listening at http://localhost:${port}`);
      console.log(`Tunnel URL: ${url}`);
    });
  

With this setup, you can access your local server from any device using the generated ngrok URL.

ngrok simplifies the development workflow by providing a secure and easily accessible URL for local servers, making it essential for modern web development.

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