localtunnel-loopback v1.0.2

localtunnel-loopback

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/75435724/222449558-d068b062-5461-4668-b8c9-781e612ed856.mp4

It is based on https://github.com/localtunnel/server and has been modified to allow connections to the loopback address (http://localhost) If you want to use it as a subdomain, use https://github.com/localtunnel/server

Overview

Web-based IDEs like Colab may have SSH tunneling restrictions due to policy reasons. In such cases, HTTP tunneling services such as Gradio or Ngrok can be used instead. However, there are some issues such as the following: 1. Restricted access and speed 2. The tunneling server may unexpectedly stop or become inaccessible 3. If the server goes down and then restarts, it may not be possible to resume previous work due to the changed address 4. Unknown users may randomly connect to the tunneled address, resulting in unauthorized access 5. The other issues caused by remote access

These issues can be resolved by using this
But, the following prerequisites are required to use this server:

• Node.js must be installed and available for use on your machine.
• Your machine must be accessible from an external machine (e.g., Colab), so you need to know about port forwarding.
• You should be able to configure the firewall settings.

If you don't understand how to configure firewall settings or set up port forwarding, it is not recommended to use this. Instead, a paid tunneling plan may be a better option.

Use the server

First, install Node.js version 18.x or later from https://nodejs.org
If you are not familiar with the installation, search for how to install Node.js

Then, run below:

# run with defaults
$ npx localtunnel-loopback # Without '--port', it run on port 80
...
server listening on port: 80
connecting client ip: 123.123.123.123
created id: 'cricket' # Each client is given a unique id.
tunnel listening on port: 34211
...

# run with secure:
$ npx localtunnel-loopback --use-https --tunnel-port 25213 # Without '--port', it run on port 443
...
server listening on port: 443
connecting client ip: 123.123.123.123
created id: 'vegetable' # random unique id
tunnel listening on port: 25213
...

# run on a different port:
$ npx localtunnel-loopback --port 1234 --tunnel-port 12345
...
server listening on port: 1234
connecting client ip: 123.123.123.123
created id: 'pizza' # random unique id
tunnel listening on port: 12345
...

The localtunnel server is now running and waiting for client requests on port 1234

IMPORTANT Make sure to configure both ports, --port (1234) and --tunnel-port (12345), in the firewall and port forwarding settings. If either of the ports is blocked, the server will not function properly."
For more command options, refer to Server Command options

Port forwarding can vary depending on the manufacturer and model of the router, so please search for instructions on how to configure it

Use the client

Since the client machine's configuration may differ from your local machine, the installation process can vary. For example, if you're using Colab, Node.js v14.x is already pre-installed, so you can run the client directly using the following command without any additional installation steps.

# npx localtunnel --port 8080 --host "{your ip address or hostname}:{server's port}"
$ npx localtunnel --port 8080 --host "http://123.123.123.100:1234"
your url is: http://localhost:7860

# Using HTTPS
$ npx localtunnel --port 8080 --host "https://your.domain:1234"

If your server is acting as a reverse proxy (i.e. nginx) and is able to listen on port 80, then you do not need the :1234 part of the hostname for the localtunnel client.

You will be assigned a URL similar to http://localhost:7860

For detailed instructions on how to install and use the client, please refer to https://github.com/localtunnel/localtunnel.

Multiple connections

A server can accept multiple client connections by default.
However, it is important to note that all ports are automatically assigned except for --tunnel-port and --local-port.

# your machine
$ npx localtunnel-loopback --port 1234 --tunnel-port 33212 --local-port 5542 
server listening on port: 1234

# remote machine
$ npx localtunnel --port 80 --host "http://123.123.123.100:1234"
your url is: http://localhost:5542

server is running at http://localhost:5542 # message on server 
tcp server listening on port: 33212 # message on server 

# a new client on remote machine
$ npx localtunnel --port 8080 --host "http://123.123.123.100:1234"
your url is: http://localhost:33214

server is running at http://localhost:33214 # message on server 
tcp server listening on port: 33213 # message on server 

Connecting two or more clients can be difficult to set up with firewalls and port forwarding due to the random assignment of ports.

Inputting multiple ports separated by spaces after --tunnel-port as follows will bind the ports in the order in which they are entered.

npx localtunnel-loopback --port 1234 --tunnel-port 33212 42421 1223

Then, all of the following ports need to be opened: 1234, 33212, 42421, and 1223.

Server Command options

Deploy

You can deploy your own localtunnel server using the prebuilt docker image.

Note This assumes that you have a proxy in front of the server to handle the http(s) requests and forward them to the localtunnel server on port 3000. You can use our localtunnel-nginx to accomplish this.

If you do not want ssl support for your own tunnel (not recommended), then you can just run the below with --port 80 instead.

docker run -d \
    --restart always \
    --name localtunnel \
    --net host \
    defunctzombie/localtunnel-server:latest --port 3000