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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to I made a tool to HTTPS your localhost

It's been 4 month since I work on Lokal full-time, I finally feel confident to share it publicly on YCombinator. Lokal is a software for Tunneling, Local Development, and HTTP Debugging, It's support HTTP, TCP and UDP Tunnel. The different with other tunneling solution is that Lokal has mDNS support with https enabled by default, while other might be only offer public-facing tunnel service. On the latest version 0.3.0, Lokal support Self-hosted Lokal Tunnel Server, which allow you to use your own domain and your own VPS, allow you to have Premium but self-hosted Tunneling Solution. Download…

Lokal is a tunneling and local development tool that enables HTTPS on localhost and supports HTTP, TCP, and UDP protocols. Designed for developers, it includes mDNS support with HTTPS enabled by default, distinguishing… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier. I made a tool to HTTPS your localhost launched in 2024; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1
    Lokal.so▲257

    Share your localhost with public and https .local address

    2024 · lokal.so · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    Expose localhost to the internet with a public URL

    2020 · tunnelto.dev · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Side project tunneling a TCP port through WhatsApp, can be useful on airplanes or any WiFi/carrier that has unlimited social network data limits. Appreciate feedback :)

    2022 · github.com · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Faster, more private internet by Cloudflare, now on mobile

    2018 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5
    lcl.host▲308

    Get HTTPS in your local dev environment

    2024 · lcl.host · its alternatives →

  6. 6
    Pinggy▲282

    Public URLs for localhost without downloading any binary

    2024 · pinggy.io · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    Expose Your Localhost Securely

    2024 · rabonatunnel.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    Expose your local web server to the internet with a public URL

    2020 · tunnelto.dev · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Pangolin is an open source self-hosted tunneled reverse proxy management server with identity and access control, designed to securely expose private resources through encrypted WireGuard tunnels running in user space. We made Pangolin so you retain full control over your infrastructure while providing a user-friendly and feature-rich solution for managing proxies, authentication, and access, all with a clean and simple dashboard web UI. GitHub: https://github.com/fosrl/pangolin Deployment takes about 5 minutes on a VPS:…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10PA

    Hey HN! localtunnel's server needs random ports per client. That doesn't work on Fly.io or behind strict firewalls. We rewrote it in TypeScript and added multiplexing over a single port. Open-source and 100% self-hostable. Public instance at *.pipenet.dev if you don't want to self-host. Built at Glama for our MCP Inspector, but it's a generic tunnel with no ties to our infra. https://github.com/punkpeye/pipenet

    Jan 2026 · pipenet.dev · its alternatives →

  11. 11
    dLinks▲179

    An easy to use, no-code site builder for Web 3.0

    2020 · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Expose local http, tcp or websocket connections to the public internet - amalshaji/portr

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13
  14. 14

    Hi HN! I'm Jarek, and I've built this tool that allows publishing .local domains on the local network using mDNS. It also has a reverse proxy that handles HTTPS termination and port forwarding. I'm working on adding more features, like an index page with all available domains or allowing proxy redirects, so you could redirect from HTTP to HTTPS. Let me know if you have any questions or feedback!

    2023 · localcan.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15
    Expose▲126

    Share your local sites via secure tunnels

    2021 · expose.dev · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    TL;DR: I built a lightweight, self-hosted HTTP tunnel that turns localhost into a public HTTPS URL. No paid plans, no secret black boxes. Just one Go binary, Caddy with wildcard TLS, and a $0/month Oracle Cloud VM. GitHub repo Why I Built It My development workflow lives mostly on a free Oracle Clou

    2025 · nexo.sh · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    Pinggy is the simplest way to bring your localhost projects online. It the the fastest way to create secure tunnels to localhost with a public url.

    2023 · pinggy.io · its alternatives →

  18. 18AS

    This is a proof of concept utility which allows you to expose local services to the internet at large: https://github.com/skx/tunneller In short it is a simple ngrok alternative, which you can self-host. Because it is a proof of concept it hasn't been tested extensively, but it seems like it will solve my immediate-needs. Of course it needs test, and structure added. But feedback can't hurt :)

    2019 · its alternatives →

  19. 19
    Tunll▲97

    Tunnels from public internet to localhost for all developers

    2022 · its alternatives →

  20. 20
    Tunnel▲127

    Collaborative preview URL for your local web app

    2023 · tunnel.dev · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    I built a DNS resolver that lets me use https://frontend.numa instead of localhost:5173 — auto-generated TLS certs, WebSocket passthrough, path routing. No mkcert, no nginx, no /etc/hosts.

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    HTTPS domains for localhost. 🏠. Contribute to lufzle/localdots development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Tabserve gives you a https url for localhost using only the browser (tabserve.dev). Take a look: https://tabserve.dev

    2023 · tabserve.dev · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    A fast SOCKS5 proxy that tunnels your traffic through what looks like normal SMTP email, bypassing Deep Packet Inspection firewalls. How it works: - Client runs a local SOCKS5 proxy (127.0.0.1:1080) - Traffic is sent to server disguised as SMTP (EHLO, STARTTLS, AUTH) - DPI sees legitimate email session, not a VPN/proxy Features: - One-liner install on any Linux VPS - Multi-user with per-user secrets and IP whitelists - Auto-generated client packages (just double-click to run) - Auto-reconnect on connection loss - Works with any app that supports SOCKS5 Tech: Python/asyncio, TLS…

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →