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rustunnel is an open-source secure tunnel server written in Rust that exposes localhost over encrypted WebSocket connections. Self-host it on any VPS or use our managed cloud — an ngrok alternative with automatic Let’s Encrypt TLS, HTTP / TCP / UDP / P2P proxying, a live dashboard, Prometheus metrics, and audit logging. If you’re new here, the fastest way in is the Quickstart — install the client and open your first tunnel in three steps. If you want to know how it fits together, jump to the Architecture page; to drive tunnels from an AI agent, start with the agent integration guide.

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Setting up

Get a tunnel running in minutes.

Start here

Follow the quickstart guide to install the client and open your first tunnel.

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Explore the docs

Client Guide

All commands, flags, config file options, region selection, and troubleshooting.

Docker Deployment

Run the server locally with a self-signed cert or deploy to a VPS with Let’s Encrypt.

Self-Hosting

Production deployment on Ubuntu with systemd, TLS, PostgreSQL, and firewall rules.

MCP Server

Let AI agents (Claude, GPT-4o, Gemini) open and manage tunnels automatically.

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Go deeper

Architecture

Internals: control protocol, yamux data plane, concurrency model, and crate structure.

Load Balancing & Health Checks

Run multiple backends behind one subdomain or TCP port. Random dispatch across healthy members with automatic failover.

P2P Tunnels

Direct peer-to-peer connections with NAT hole punching over QUIC, with automatic relay fallback.

UDP Tunnels

Forward UDP datagrams (game servers, DNS, QUIC, VoIP) to a public port on the rustunnel server.

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Use rustunnel with AI agents

Claude Code Plugin

Install the rustunnel Claude Code plugin in one command. The agent gets six tunnel-management tools and your token is stored securely.

MCP Server (Cursor, Windsurf, any agent)

Wire the rustunnel MCP server into Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, OpenClaw, or any other MCP-compatible client to expose localhost on demand.