port-proxy
Installation
npm install -g port-proxy
Note: You need to have Node.js installed.
Usage
If you installed port-proxy as a global module:
port-proxy localPort to proxyPort
For instance, if your application's port is 51123, run this in the Command Prompt:
port-proxy 51123 to 3000
The program will list the external addresses you can use for testing your application on remote devices.
Advanced usage (VPN, virtual hosts, etc.)
You can also use port-proxy to expose an server instance running on a different host accessible through VPN, like this:
port-proxy host:port to proxyPort
For instance, let's conside this scenario:
- the application is running on 192.168.96.3:5000 and it only accepts connections from clients within a VPN;
- your development machine has a network interface within the same VPN and another publicly accessible one (192.168.0.102);
- you need to test the application from mobile devices without having to add those devices to the VPN.
By running this in the Command Prompt:
port-proxy 192.168.96.3:5000 to 3000
...you'll be able to access the application by pointing the mobile devices to 192.168.0.102:3000.
Limitations
port-proxy doesn't work in scenarios involving integrated Windows
authentication.
How does it work
It's proxying the HTTP traffic on localPort to proxyPort on all the available network
interfaces and it's also changing the origin of the host header,
allowing you to test web applications hosted on various remote devices
(mobile devices, other desktops, etc.).