Tunnel Setup

Learn how to create and configure secure HTTPS tunnels.

Basic Tunnel

arm tunnel 3000

This creates a tunnel from a random subdomain to your local port 3000.

Custom Subdomain

arm tunnel 3000 --subdomain myapp

Your server is now accessible at https://myapp.free-tunnelapi.app

Tunnel Options

Option	Description	Example
--subdomain, -s	Custom subdomain	--subdomain myapp
--host	Local hostname	--host 192.168.1.100
--auth	Require authentication	--auth
--rate-limit	Requests per minute	--rate-limit 100
--ip-whitelist	Allowed IPs	--ip-whitelist "1.2.3.4"

How Tunnels Work

┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐
│   Browser   │────▶│   TunnelAPI.in   │────▶│  localhost  │
│             │◀────│   (WebSocket)    │◀────│    :3000    │
└─────────────┘     └──────────────────┘     └─────────────┘
                           │
                           ▼
                    ┌──────────────┐
                    │   ARM CLI    │
                    │  (Your PC)   │
                    └──────────────┘

1. CLI establishes WebSocket connection to tunnel server
2. Incoming HTTP requests are forwarded through WebSocket
3. CLI forwards requests to your local server
4. Responses travel back through the same path

Supported Protocols

• HTTP/HTTPS - Web traffic (default)
• WebSocket - Real-time connections
• Server-Sent Events - Streaming responses

Keep Tunnel Alive

The CLI automatically reconnects on network issues. For long-running tunnels:

# Run in background
nohup arm tunnel 3000 --subdomain myapp &

# Or use a process manager
pm2 start "arm tunnel 3000 --subdomain myapp" --name my-tunnel

Multiple Tunnels

Create multiple tunnels simultaneously:

# Terminal 1
arm tunnel 3000 --subdomain frontend

# Terminal 2
arm tunnel 5000 --subdomain api