Creating Tunnels

From the App

Quick Expose

1. Find your project in the Projects tab
2. Ensure your dev server is running
3. Click Expose on the running service
4. Enter a subdomain or use the suggested one
5. Click Done

Your tunnel is now active at https://subdomain.expose.yourdomain.com

From Project Detail

1. Click on a project to open details
2. Start the server if not running
3. Click Expose in the Actions section
4. Configure the subdomain
5. Click Done

From the Menu Bar

1. Click the Expose menu bar icon
2. Find your project under Projects
3. Click Expose next to a running service
4. Enter a subdomain
5. Press Enter

Tunnel Configuration

When creating a tunnel, you can configure:

Option	Description
Subdomain	The public URL prefix (e.g., myapp)
Local Port	The port to forward (auto-detected)

Subdomain Rules

• Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only
• Must start and end with a letter or number
• 3-63 characters long
• Must be unique (not in use by another user)

Managing Active Tunnels

View Tunnels

Go to the Tunnels tab to see all active tunnels with:

• Public URL
• Local port
• Connection status
• Real-time metrics

Copy URL

1. Find the tunnel in the list
2. Click the copy icon or right-click
3. The URL is copied to your clipboard

Stop a Tunnel

1. Find the tunnel in the list
2. Click the tunnel card to open detail
3. Click Disconnect in the actions

Or from the project detail view, click Unexpose.

Multiple Tunnels

You can run multiple tunnels simultaneously:

• Different projects on different ports
• Same project with different subdomains
• Each tunnel uses a separate WebSocket connection

Automatic Reconnection

If your connection drops, Expose automatically attempts to reconnect:

1. Waits 1 second
2. Attempts to reconnect
3. If failed, waits longer (exponential backoff)
4. Retries up to 10 times
5. Shows error if all attempts fail

During reconnection, the tunnel URL remains reserved for you.

Tunnel Persistence

Tunnels persist until:

• You manually disconnect
• The app is closed (unless “Keep tunnels on quit” is enabled)
• Your server is restarted
• Network connectivity is lost for too long

Best Practices

Use Meaningful Subdomains

✓ preview-feature-x
✓ demo-client-acme
✓ staging-api

✗ test1
✗ asdf
✗ abc123

One Tunnel Per Service

Expose one port per subdomain for clarity:

frontend.expose.domain.com → :3000
api.expose.domain.com      → :8000

Monitor Metrics

Watch for unusual traffic patterns that might indicate issues or unauthorized access.