Dev Tunnels - Expose Local Services

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up and using dev tunnels to expose your local services to the internet.

Prerequisites

Ensure the Dev Tunnel CLI tool is installed before proceeding.

Install the Dev Tunnel CLI tool
Terminal window
```
# using winget
winget install Microsoft.devtunnel
```
To upgrade, use the upgrade command
Terminal window
```
winget upgrade Microsoft.devtunnel
```
Log in using your Microsoft or GitHub account
Terminal window
```
devtunnel user login
```

One-Time Use Tunnel

Exposing a Local Service

To expose a local service to the internet for one-time use, execute the following command:

# Example: exposing port 8080
devtunnel host -p 8080

Upon execution, you’ll receive feedback in the terminal with the public URL of your service:

# Example output
Hosting port: 8080
Connect via browser: https://shm5qgjz.euw.devtunnels.ms:8080, https://shm5qgjz-8080.euw.devtunnels.ms
Inspect network activity: https://shm5qgjz-8080-inspect.euw.devtunnels.ms

Ready to accept connections for tunnel: happy-cat-p2dcg82

Allow Anonymous Access

By default, tunnels require authentication. To permit anonymous access, use the --anonymous or -a flag:

# Example: exposing port 8080 with anonymous access
devtunnel host -p 8080 -a

To add temporary anonymous access to an existing tunnel:

# Example: granting anonymous access for 6 hours
devtunnel access create happy-cat-p2dcg82 -a --expiration 6h

To stop the tunnel, press Ctrl+C in the terminal.

Persistent Tunnel

Creating a Persistent Tunnel

You can create a dev tunnel without hosting it immediately. The tunnel retains its public URL, even if the service is restarted. Set a custom expiration time with the --expiration or -e flag (minimum: 1 hour, default/maximum: 30 days).

# Example: creating a persistent tunnel with a 20-day expiration
devtunnel create peertunnel --expiration 20d

Assigning a Port to the Tunnel

Assign a port to the persistent tunnel using the port create command:

# Example: assigning port 8080 to the tunnel
devtunnel port create peertunnel -p 8080

Allow Anonymous Access

Grant temporary anonymous access to a specific port in the tunnel:

# Example: granting anonymous access for 6 hours
devtunnel access create peertunnel -a --expiration 6h

Official documentation

For additional details and advanced usage, consult the official Dev Tunnel documentation.

Official documentation