Public URLs

Overview

Public URLs allows local apps or websites to be accessible on the public internet.

This is particularly useful when you want to test apps in a real-world setting, test webhooks, OAuth, or share work progress with clients, stakeholders or anyone outside your local network.

LocalCan.dev

Public URLs on the LocalCan.dev domain are persistent, which means they don't change when you close the app or pause them.

Creating a Public URL

With a single click, you can create a Public URL. If you already have a local domain like api.myapp.local, the Public URL will appear as api-myapp-12.localcan.dev. This URL directly connects to your local app.

Advanced Features

  • Traffic Inspection - You can monitor all incoming HTTP requests to your Public URLs in real-time. This feature helps debug webhooks, analyze API calls, and troubleshoot integration issues.

  • Host Header Customization - For applications that rely on specific Host headers, you can customize the Host header that's sent to your local application. This is particularly useful when testing domain-specific features or multi-tenant applications.

  • Basic Authentication - Protect your Public URLs with Basic Authentication to restrict access. You can set up username and password credentials to ensure only authorized users can access your public endpoints.

Pausing and resuming

Public URLs have a pause and resume feature. If you pause your Public URL, it will become offline, but the URL will stay reserved for you for up to 7 days. You can do this through the pause and resume menu items.

Also, if you close LocalCan, your Public URLs are still reserved. You can switch off your computer, return after a few days, and resume the same Public URLs.

Cloudflare

LocalCan integrates with Cloudflare Quick Tunnels to make it easier to create Public URLs for local apps. This integration removes the need to use the cloudflared CLI by hand. Cloudflare takes care of managing the Public URLs.

All advanced features including traffic inspection, Host header customization, and Basic Authentication are also available for Cloudflare Quick Tunnels, providing the same functionality regardless of which Public URL provider you choose.

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