| name | share-link |
| description | Share your local dev server with others via a public URL using Cloudflare's free quick tunnel service. Creates a temporary public link to your localhost so teammates or stakeholders can preview your prototype without deploying. Use this skill when the user says "share my prototype", "get a public link", "share my local dev", "create a share link", or "let someone else see what I'm working on".
|
Share Link
Create a temporary public URL that tunnels to your local dev server using Cloudflare's free cloudflared quick tunnel.
When to Use
- Sharing a prototype with a teammate or stakeholder for quick feedback
- Demoing work-in-progress without deploying
- Testing on a mobile device from a different network
- Any time someone needs to see what's running on your localhost
Prerequisites
- Local dev server already running (typically
pnpm run dev on port 5173)
- Internet connection
npx available (comes with Node.js)
Note: vite.config.ts already includes server.allowedHosts: ['.trycloudflare.com'], so Vite will accept requests from any *.trycloudflare.com tunnel URL without extra configuration.
Instructions
Step 1 — Confirm the dev server is running
Ask the user if their dev server is already running. If not, remind them to start it:
pnpm run dev
The default port is 5173. If they're using a different port, note it for Step 2.
Step 2 — Start the tunnel
In a separate terminal window, run:
npx cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:5173
- If this is the first time running it, the user will be prompted to confirm installation of the
cloudflared package — they should accept.
- Replace
5173 with the actual port if different.
Step 3 — Find the public URL
The command produces a lot of output. Look for a line like:
Your quick Tunnel has been created! Visit it at (it may take some time to be reachable):
https://some-random-words.trycloudflare.com
That https://*.trycloudflare.com URL is the shareable link. Copy it and send it to whoever needs to see the prototype.
Step 4 — Share the link
Give the URL to the user and remind them:
- The link is publicly accessible — anyone with the URL can view the site
- It stays active as long as the
cloudflared process is running in the terminal
- To stop sharing, press
Ctrl+C in the terminal running cloudflared
- The URL is randomly generated and changes each time you restart the tunnel
Important Caveats
- Free tier, not production-grade — this is Cloudflare's complimentary quick tunnel service. It's great for demos and feedback, not for serving real users.
- Temporary — the URL expires when you stop the process. There's no persistence.
- Performance — latency may be higher than localhost since traffic routes through Cloudflare's network.
- No auth — anyone with the link can access your local server. Don't share sensitive data.
- 200 concurrent request limit — the tunnel can handle up to 200 requests being processed at the exact same moment. In practice this means roughly 200 people actively clicking around at once — well beyond what a prototype demo needs. If you somehow hit it, visitors will see an error until traffic drops back down.
- No real-time/streaming support — quick tunnels don't support Server-Sent Events (SSE). If the app uses live-updating features (like a real-time feed or streaming AI responses), those won't work through the tunnel.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Solution |
|---|
| "command not found: npx" | Node.js isn't installed or not in PATH. Run the setup-environment skill. |
| Tunnel starts but URL isn't reachable | Wait 10–15 seconds. Quick tunnels can take a moment to propagate. |
| Connection refused errors | Make sure your dev server is actually running on the specified port. |
| Tunnel disconnects frequently | Check your internet connection. Restart the tunnel if needed. |
| Need a stable URL that doesn't change | This free service doesn't support that. Consider deploying to Vercel or GitLab Pages instead. |
Reference
