Hosting and public access

Start a service locally, host the port with Host to generate a public access URL, then simply open the URL in a browser.

Video demos

Scenario overview

Goal: start an HTTP service locally, host it through a DevBridge tunnel, get a public access URL, and access it directly in a browser.

You don't need to install the CLI or establish a Connect connection on another device — this is ideal for quickly sharing local development content.

Step 1: Start the local service

In terminal 1, start an HTTP service listening on port 8080:

python3 -m http.server 8080

Once started, this terminal keeps running; the service listens on 0.0.0.0:8080 by default. Keep this terminal open.

Verify the service works:

curl http://127.0.0.1:8080

If it returns a listing of the files in the current directory, the service is working.

Step 2: Start Host to host the port

There are two ways to run Host, depending on whether you reuse an existing tunnel.

Option 1: Use a temporary tunnel

If you don't have a reusable tunnel, let Host automatically create a temporary tunnel and host port 8080:

devbridge host -p 8080

To set a description and expiration:

devbridge host -p 8080 -d "tunnel description" -e 8

• -p 8080: hosts local port 8080.
• -d: tunnel description, optional.
• -e: expiration in hours, optional, defaults to 72 hours.

After Host succeeds, it prints the tunnel ID and access URL, in the following format:

https://<tunnelId>-<port>.devbridge-s2.hwtunnel.com

The image above shows the actual output of devbridge host -p 8080: it automatically creates tunnel yf7oqwea, hosts port 8080, and prints the corresponding tunnel URL.

Temporary tunnel lifecycle

A tunnel created by devbridge host -p 8080 is retained after you stop Host — it isn't deleted automatically. Clean it up with devbridge delete <tunnelId> when you no longer need it.

Option 2: Use an existing tunnel

Before reusing an existing tunnel, confirm that it exists and that port 8080 is already configured.

1. List the valid tunnels in the current workspace:

   devbridge list

   Confirm the target tunnel ID is in the list.

2. View the tunnel's port configuration:

   devbridge port list <tunnelId>

   Confirm port 8080 already exists. If it doesn't, create it first:

   devbridge port create <tunnelId> -p 8080 --protocol http

3. Start Host to host all the ports of that tunnel:

   devbridge host <tunnelId>

   Host loads all the ports configured in the tunnel and begins forwarding; you don't need to specify -p again.

   

   The image above shows the actual output of devbridge host ghirszae: Host successfully hosts port 8080 and prints the tunnel URL; during the run it triggers an automatic reconnection and resumes forwarding after recovering.

Either way, Host keeps running in the foreground. Keep terminal 2 open; press Ctrl+C to stop hosting.

Step 3: Access the tunnel URL in a browser

The tunnel URL that Host prints looks like:

https://<tunnelId>-<port>.devbridge-s2.hwtunnel.com

Open the URL directly in a browser on any device to access the local service. The behavior depends on the port's anonymous-access policy:

Port policy	Browser behavior
Allows anonymous access (-a)	Open the URL directly to access it — no DevBridge identity or credentials required.
Denies anonymous access (default)	You're redirected to a sign-in page; complete authentication to obtain credentials, then you can access it.

A port's anonymous-access policy is set at creation time with -a or --deny-anonymous. See Manage ports.

Quick reference

Step	Terminal	Command	Description
1	Terminal 1	python3 -m http.server 8080	Start the local HTTP service.
2	Terminal 2	devbridge host -p 8080	Host with a temporary tunnel (Option 1).
2	Terminal 2	devbridge host <tunnelId>	Host with an existing tunnel (Option 2).
3	Browser	https://<tunnelId>-<port>.devbridge-s2.hwtunnel.com	Access the tunnel URL directly.

FAQ

Host exits immediately after starting

Confirm the local service in terminal 1 is still running. Host exits with an error when it detects that nothing is listening on the local port.

Browser access returns a sign-in page

When the port is configured to deny anonymous access, the browser redirects to a sign-in page. Complete authentication to access it, or use -a when creating the port to allow anonymous access.

Forgot the tunnel ID

To look it up:

devbridge list

Both temporary and persistent tunnels appear in the valid tunnel list.

Cleanup

After verification, stop things in this order:

1. Press Ctrl+C in the Host terminal.
2. Press Ctrl+C in the service terminal to stop python3 -m http.server.

A temporary tunnel isn't deleted automatically after you stop Host. Clean it up once you're sure you no longer need it:

devbridge delete <tunnelId>

Related content

• Hosting and remote connection
• Host: expose local services
• Manage ports
• What is DevBridge
• Troubleshoot Host connection issues