How to Expose Localhost to the Internet (The Simple Way)

You built something on your computer. Maybe a website, an API, or a prototype. It works at localhost:3000. Now you want someone else to see it: a friend, a client, your team. But "localhost" only works on your machine.

Here's how to give it a public URL in about 60 seconds.

What "localhost" means

When you run a web app locally, it listens on a "port," like localhost:3000. The word "localhost" is your computer talking to itself. Nobody else on the internet can reach it because your router and firewall block all incoming connections by default.

The fix: a tunnel

A tunnel creates a path from the public internet to your computer. When someone visits a URL like https://abc123.tunnel.localport.dev, the traffic goes through Localport's servers and arrives at your localhost:3000.

You don't deploy anything. You don't change any settings. You run one command.

Step by step

1. Install Localport

curl -fsSL https://localport.io/install.sh | sh

This takes about 10 seconds. It downloads a single binary file, with no runtime and no dependencies.

2. Get a token

Sign up at dashboard.localport.io and start your free trial. Create a tunnel and copy the token.

3. Start the tunnel

localport http 3000 --token YOUR_TOKEN

Replace 3000 with whatever port your app runs on.

4. Share the URL

You'll see a URL like https://abc123.tunnel.localport.dev. Open it in your browser and you see your local app. Send the URL to anyone and they see it too.

5. Stop when done

Press Ctrl+C. The URL stops working immediately. No cleanup needed.

When you need this

• Showing work to a client without deploying to a staging server
• Testing webhooks from Stripe, GitHub, or Slack that need a real HTTPS URL
• Testing on your phone by opening the URL on a different device
• Sharing with teammates who want to see your changes before they're merged
• Building with AI tools that need a callback URL to reach your local server

How is this different from deploying?

	Deploying	Tunneling
Time to share	Minutes to hours	Seconds
Reflects local changes	After redeploy	Instantly (it's your live local server)
Needs a server	Yes	No
Costs money	Usually	Flat from $5/mo
Works when your computer is off	Yes	No

Tunneling is for development and sharing. Deploying is for production.

FAQ

Will it slow down my app? Barely. Localport adds a few milliseconds of latency. For development and demos, you won't notice. Does my computer need to stay on? Yes. The tunnel is active as long as the CLI is running. Close your terminal or shut down your computer, and the tunnel closes. Can I use a custom URL? On any plan, you can reserve a subdomain so your URL stays the same between sessions. Start your free trial →