# localtunnel

expose yourself

Repository: https://github.com/localtunnel/localtunnel
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/localtunnel
Homepage: https://localtunnel.me
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2025-08-29T16:17:30+00:00
Link (homepage): https://localtunnel.me

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 50/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 39, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5190, "days_push": 369, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 22457, forks 1564 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:32.644895+00:00)

## What it is
localtunnel is a Node.js tool that exposes a locally running web server to the internet via a public URL that proxies requests to your localhost. It ships as a CLI (`lt`) and a JavaScript client library for programmatic use in tests and automation.

## Use cases
- expose my localhost to the internet for testing
- share a local dev server with a teammate via a public url
- test webhooks from services like twilio against my local machine
- test my ui in cloud browsers that need a public url
- get a temporary https url for my local http server
- programmatically create tunnels in automated tests

## When to choose
- you need a quick public url for a local web server without DNS or firewall changes
- you want webhook callbacks from external services to reach your dev machine
- you want a lightweight npm-installable tunnel with a JS API for test automation

## When to avoid
- you need production-grade tunnels with custom domains, auth, or SLAs
- you are tunneling sensitive traffic and cannot trust a third-party proxy server
- you need self-hosted tunneling at scale with access controls

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: proxy, http-server, cli, developer-tools, webhook
- domain: developer-tools, web-development, networking
- platform: cli, cross-platform, windows
- tags: tunneling, localhost, ngrok-alternative, public-url, port-forwarding, command-line, nodejs, macos, linux

## Member repositories
- localtunnel/localtunnel (main) score 50
- localtunnel/server (backend) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:32.644895+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T16:57:10.223556+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/localtunnel/localtunnel (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:32.644895+00:00, sha 8101ec0e7dcb)
  - homepage: https://localtunnel.me (fetched 2026-08-29T07:56:13.552995+00:00, sha d3a86d84cb90)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/localtunnel (fetched 2026-08-29T07:56:13.559039+00:00, sha 4bb8ce335511)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.