Share Your Local PHP/Laravel using Ngrok
This post shows how to share your Laravel Framework Installation on Ubuntu but you can perform the same with other operating systems as well.
What is Ngrok
ngrok is a simplified API-first ingress-as-a-service that adds connectivity,security, and observability to your apps in one line.It allows you to create a tunnel very fast for free and Laravel has an internal webserver that can be used without configuration.
Why Ngrok
Ngrok allows developers to expose their locally hosted applications to the internet, which is useful for testing and debugging purposes. It eliminates the need to deploy the application to a remote server for testing, saving time and effort.Mostly Ngrok is used where we need to test webhook locally.Ngrok enables developers to receive these webhooks on their local machine, facilitating the development and testing of webhook-based functionality.
How to use Ngrok
Assuming you have Laravel installed correctly, you can follow the steps below to use Ngrok:
1. Download Ngrok: Visit the official Ngrok website (download link) and download the version compatible with your operating system.
2. Sign up and get an authentication token: Create an account on the Ngrok website and obtain your authentication token. This token will be used to authenticate your Ngrok client.
3. Extract the Ngrok executable: Choose a directory on your computer and extract the downloaded Ngrok executable to that location.
4. Connect your account: Open a terminal or command prompt and navigate to the directory where you extracted the Ngrok executable. Connect your Ngrok client to your account by running the following command:
ngrok authtoken YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN
Replace `YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN` with the authentication token obtained from the Ngrok website.
5. Start a tunnel: To expose your local Laravel server, run the following command:
ngrok http 8000
6. Access the tunnel: Once the command is executed, Ngrok will generate a temporary public URL for accessing your local Laravel server. It will display the forwarding URLs in the terminal or command prompt. The URL will typically have the format `http://random_string.ngrok.io`.
You can now use the provided Ngrok URL to access your local Laravel server from anywhere on the internet.
Remember to manually stop Ngrok by pressing Ctrl+C in the terminal or command prompt when you no longer need the tunnel.
These steps assume you have Laravel correctly installed, and Ngrok provides additional features and customization options that you can explore by referring to the Ngrok documentation.
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