Imported from xiaoyuboi/cloudflare-tunnel-skill (
SKILL.md). Install upstream withnpx skills add xiaoyuboi/cloudflare-tunnel-skill. Copyright stays with the author (MIT).
Cloudflare Tunnel Agent Workflow
Help the user expose a local service through Cloudflare Tunnel. Choose the safest working mode:
- Quick mode: temporary
https://*.trycloudflare.comURL. Use for demos, previews, classroom sharing, and short-lived testing. - Named mode: fixed hostname such as
app.example.com. Use when the user owns a Cloudflare-managed domain and needs a stable public URL.
Before running commands, identify:
- Local service URL, usually
http://localhost:<port>orhttps://localhost:<port>. - Exposure mode: quick or named.
- Whether the service contains admin panels, tokens, private data, internal systems, or unauthenticated write APIs.
If the service is sensitive, pause and warn the user before exposing it. See references/security.md.
Paths and State
All scripts/... and references/... paths in this document are relative to this skill's install directory, not the user's project. When the working directory is the user's project, call the helper with its full installed path, for example:
python3 ~/.claude/skills/cloudflare-tunnel/scripts/tunnel_helper.py quick --url http://localhost:3000
The helper writes runtime state to .cloudflare-tunnel/ inside the current working directory, so run status and stop from the same directory where quick was started. If that directory is a git repository, make sure .cloudflare-tunnel/ is in its .gitignore before committing.
Mode Selection
Use quick mode when:
- The user says temporary, demo, preview, share localhost, quick public link, or no domain.
- The URL may change after restart.
- The user does not need Cloudflare login.
Use named mode when:
- The user asks for a fixed domain, stable public URL, webhook endpoint, or long-lived mapping.
- The user has a Cloudflare account and a domain whose DNS is managed by Cloudflare.
- The hostname should survive process restarts.
If unclear, default to quick mode for non-sensitive demos and ask only when exposing a sensitive service or creating a fixed hostname.
Required Checks
Check cloudflared:
cloudflared --version
Verify the local service before creating a tunnel:
curl -I http://localhost:<PORT>
Treat 200, 301, 302, 304, 401, and 403 as evidence that the service is reachable. Investigate connection failures before starting a tunnel.
Quick Mode
Read references/quick-tunnel.md when the user wants a temporary public URL.
Preferred helper:
python3 scripts/tunnel_helper.py quick --url http://localhost:<PORT>
The helper starts cloudflared in the background, waits for a trycloudflare.com URL, writes state under .cloudflare-tunnel/, and prints JSON with the public URL.
Helper behavior worth knowing:
- If a quick tunnel for the same local URL is already running, it is reused (
"reused": true). A running tunnel for a different local URL is stopped and replaced. - Transient
api.trycloudflare.comfailures are retried up to 3 times automatically. verifyfalls back to DNS-over-HTTPS when the system resolver cannot resolve a freshtrycloudflare.comhostname (common behind fake-IP proxy DNS). DNS propagation can take one or two minutes; retryverifybefore treating the tunnel as broken.
Manual fallback:
printf '' > /tmp/cloudflared-empty.yml
cloudflared --config /tmp/cloudflared-empty.yml tunnel --no-autoupdate --protocol http2 --url http://localhost:<PORT>
Wait for both:
https://*.trycloudflare.comin the output- at least one
Registered tunnel connectionlog line
Then verify:
python3 scripts/tunnel_helper.py verify --url https://xxxx.trycloudflare.com
Stop a helper-started tunnel:
python3 scripts/tunnel_helper.py stop
Named Mode
Read references/named-tunnel.md when the user wants a fixed domain.
Typical locally-managed CLI flow:
cloudflared tunnel login
cloudflared tunnel create <TUNNEL_NAME>
cloudflared tunnel route dns <TUNNEL_NAME> <HOSTNAME>
Create a config:
python3 scripts/tunnel_helper.py named-config \
--name <TUNNEL_NAME> \
--hostname <HOSTNAME> \
--url http://localhost:<PORT>
Run:
cloudflared tunnel --config .cloudflare-tunnel/<TUNNEL_NAME>.yml run <TUNNEL_NAME>
Named mode may require an interactive browser login. Do not paste, print, commit, or store Cloudflare tokens outside the user's local Cloudflare config.
Output
After success, return:
- Public URL
- Local URL
- Mode used
- How to stop the tunnel
- A short temporary/stability warning for quick mode
Example:
Public URL: https://xxxx.trycloudflare.com
Local URL: http://localhost:3000
Mode: quick
Stop: python3 scripts/tunnel_helper.py stop
This is a temporary Quick Tunnel URL. It stops working if cloudflared exits, the computer sleeps, or the network disconnects.
Troubleshooting
Use references/troubleshooting.md for:
- no public URL in logs
- 404 from the tunnel
- 502 / Bad Gateway
- self-signed local HTTPS
- phone cannot open the link
- named tunnel DNS or login failures