ZTunnel / Quickstart

Quickstart

Expose a local service or deploy an app to a ZTunnel edge in under five minutes.

1. Install the CLI

Works on macOS, Linux and Windows. Single static binary, no daemon required.

bash

# macOS / Linux
curl -sSL https://dl.ztunnel.in/install | sh

# Verify
ztunnel --version

2. Log in

Authenticate the CLI against your ZTunnel account. Opens a browser to confirm.

bash

ztunnel login

Need an auth token instead (CI / scripting)? Generate one from Auth Tokens and export it as ZTUNNEL_TOKEN.

3. Expose a local service

Tunnels traffic from a public edge URL to your local port over a secure WebSocket.

bash

# Expose localhost:3000 (tunnel id from the console)
ztunnel http 3000 --tunnel <tunnel-id>

# Pin a subdomain (PRO+)
ztunnel http 3000 --tunnel <tunnel-id> --subdomain my-app

The CLI prints the live URL and streams request logs. Stop with Ctrl+C.

4. Deploy from a Git repo (optional)

One-click deploys to ZTunnel edges. Auto-detects Node / Python / static sites.

bash

# From inside a repo
ztunnel deploy

# Or from the console
# → Tunnels → New → Deploy from Git

5. Bring your own domain (PRO+)

Add a custom domain and ZTunnel auto-issues a free SSL certificate via Let's Encrypt.

Open your tunnel → Settings → Custom Domains.
Add a domain (e.g. app.example.com) and create a CNAME record pointing to the displayed target.
Click Check now. Once DNS resolves, SSL provisions automatically on first request.

Open Tunnels console