ngro

Ngro is a network tunneling tool designed to expose locally running services to the internet by creating secure tunnels from a public endpoint to a private development environment. By running a lightweight client on a developer’s machine and connecting to a cloud-based ingress service, ngro allocates a publicly reachable URL or address that forwards incoming traffic to the specified local port. This enables remote access for testing, demonstrations, or webhook development without deploying to a public server.

Typical operation involves mapping a local port (for example, 3000) to a publicly accessible URL. The service supports HTTP(S) tunnels and TCP tunnels, with options for secure transport, subdomain customization (where available), and traffic inspection through a web interface. A local dashboard or inspector can show requests, headers, and responses in real time, aiding debugging.

Ngro runs on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, and is controlled via a command-line interface or configuration file. Authentication tokens and access controls are commonly provided to restrict usage, and many deployments offer different plans with features such as fixed subdomains, custom domains, or higher connection limits.

Common use cases include testing webhooks from external services, showing demos to teammates, and developing against a remotely accessible API. Users should be mindful of security implications, as exposing local services increases surface area for access; best practices include enabling TLS, using authentication, restricting IPs, and shutting down tunnels when not in use.

See also ngrok, local tunnel, reverse proxy.