How to share a local website with a client

ngsrv helps developers expose local services, share preview links, test webhooks, and get feedback faster. The shortest workflow for "can you check this real quick?" is: keep coding on your laptop, send your client a normal URL, and skip the deploy.

This is the use case where ngsrv earns its keep on the marketing side of the business — designers, PMs, and clients don't care about your CI pipeline; they want to click a link.

Why deploying a staging server for every change is wrong

The default playbook for sharing work-in-progress is:

Commit
Push
Wait for CI
Wait for the staging deploy
Realize you forgot an env var
Repeat

That's 10-15 minutes you don't have when a client says "is the button red enough?" An ngsrv tunnel collapses that loop to two seconds.

Step 1 — Run your dev server

Pick your stack. Common ports:

# Next.js / Express / Rails / Django
npm run dev               # 3000

# Angular CLI
ng serve                  # 4200

# Vite
npm run dev               # 5173

# Storybook
npm run storybook         # 6006

Step 2 — Tunnel it with a stable URL

ngsrv http 4200 --subdomain client-preview

You get back:

https://client-preview.tnl.ngsrv.com -> http://localhost:4200

Reserved subdomains stay yours across CLI restarts on Pro and above, so the link you sent yesterday still works tomorrow.

Step 3 — Send the link

Paste the URL into Slack, email, Linear, Notion — wherever your client lives. They click and see your laptop. They don't see "localhost", they don't see a :4200, they don't need a VPN. It's just a normal HTTPS site.

Custom domain for clients you bill

For client work where the URL is part of the deliverable, use a custom domain instead of an *.tnl.ngsrv.com subdomain:

tunnels:
  - name: preview
    port: 4200
    domain: preview.your-agency.com

See /docs/cli/domains for the DNS setup. Custom domains are included on Pro.

Keeping it private

You probably don't want random people on the internet poking your work-in-progress. Two cheap protections:

Header auth. Add a required token to ngsrv.yml:

tunnels:
  - name: preview
    port: 4200
    subdomain: client-preview
    security_policies:
      - type: header_required
        header: "X-Preview-Token"
        value: "kj4f-rt9z-p1ld"

Send the client the URL with the token, or use a simple shareable link wrapper. Done.

IP allowlist. If your client works from a fixed office:

security_policies:
  - type: ip_allowlist
    ips: ["203.0.113.0/24"]

Both policies are on the free tier.

What clients actually see

A regular HTTPS site. The ngsrv edge handles TLS, so the green padlock is real. There's no banner, no warning interstitial, no "free tier" watermark — just your app.

FAQ

Can I share a local website with a non-technical client? Yes. ngsrv gives you a normal HTTPS URL that forwards to your local dev server. The client just clicks the link.

Does ngsrv work with Angular? Yes. ngsrv http 4200 and you're done.

Does ngsrv work with Vite? Yes. ngsrv http 5173.

Can I use my own domain? Yes, on Pro and above. Add a domain: field to your ngsrv.yml tunnel and follow the DNS instructions in /docs/cli/domains.

Will the link still work tomorrow? Yes if you used a reserved subdomain or a custom domain. Random subdomains rotate per session.