Portr
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Client

HTTP Tunnel

Learn how to start an HTTP tunnel with the Portr CLI to expose a local web server or API to the public internet in a single command.

Use the following command to tunnel an HTTP connection.

portr http 9000

Or start it with a custom subdomain:

portr http 9000 --subdomain amal-test

This also starts the portr inspector on http://localhost:7777 by default, where you can inspect and replay HTTP requests. Change dashboard_port in the client config to move it to another local port, or set disable_dashboard: true to skip starting it entirely.

Rewriting the Host header

By default, Portr forwards the public host (amal-test.portr.dev) to your local server. Frameworks with host allowlists — Rails host authorization, Django ALLOWED_HOSTS, Vite server.allowedHosts — reject those requests.

portr http 9000 --host-header rewrite

rewrite replaces the Host header with the local address (localhost:9000). Any other value is sent literally, which is useful for vhost-based local setups:

portr http 9000 --host-header myapp.local

Or per tunnel in the config file:

tunnels:
  - name: rails
    subdomain: rails
    port: 3000
    host_header: rewrite

rewrite changes the hostname your app believes it is served from, so absolute URLs and redirects it generates will point at the local address. If that matters, leave host_header unset and add the public host to your framework's allowlist instead.

host_header is only valid on type: http tunnels. The inspector always records the original public host, not the rewritten one.

How it works

When you run the HTTP tunnel command:

  1. Portr connects to your configured server
  2. Creates a secure tunnel from your local port to a public URL
  3. Starts the request inspector interface locally
  4. Routes all incoming requests through the tunnel to your local service

Inspector Features

The Portr inspector provides powerful debugging capabilities:

  • Request inspection: View all incoming HTTP requests in real-time
  • Request replay: Replay a stored request as-is or edit it before resending
  • Headers analysis: Examine request and response headers
  • Payload viewing: Inspect request and response bodies
  • WebSocket inspection: Monitor upgraded WebSocket sessions and captured frames

Common Use Cases

  • Local web development: Share your local development server with others
  • Webhook testing: Receive webhooks from external services during development
  • API debugging: Test API integrations with external services
  • Demo presentations: Show your work to clients or team members

Team Administration

Add users to Portr teams from the client CLI, including role selection and password handling.

Request Logs

Inspect locally stored HTTP request logs captured by the Portr CLI to debug, replay, and review traffic flowing through your tunnels.