Tunels lets you expose a local server to the internet in seconds. This guide walks you through installation, authentication, and creating your first tunnel.

Step 1: Install the CLI

Download the Tunels CLI for your platform from the downloads page, or use a package manager:

# macOS (Homebrew)
brew install tunels-io/tap/tunels

# Linux (curl)
curl -sSL https://tunels.io/install.sh | sh

# Windows (Scoop)
scoop install tunels

Verify the installation:

tunels version

Step 2: Create an Account

Sign up at tunels.io/signup. You'll receive a CLI authentication token automatically.

Step 3: Authenticate

tunels auth login

This opens your browser for authentication. Once confirmed, your CLI is connected to your account.

Step 4: Start Your First Tunnel

Assume you have a web server running on port 3000:

tunels http 3000

Output:

Tunnel established!
  Public URL: https://a1b2c3d4.tunels.io
  Local:      http://localhost:3000
  Inspector:  http://localhost:4040

That's it. Anyone can now access your local server at the public URL.

Step 5: Explore the Inspector

Open http://localhost:4040 in your browser. The inspector shows every HTTP request flowing through your tunnel — method, path, headers, body, response status, and latency. It's incredibly useful for debugging.

What's Next?