--- title: "Pinggy Tunnel — Zero-install localhost tunnels over SSH via Pinggy" sidebar_label: "Pinggy Tunnel" description: "Zero-install localhost tunnels over SSH via Pinggy" --- {/* This page is auto-generated from the skill's SKILL.md by website/scripts/generate-skill-docs.py. Edit the source SKILL.md, not this page. */} # Pinggy Tunnel Zero-install localhost tunnels over SSH via Pinggy. ## Skill metadata | | | |---|---| | Source | Optional — install with `hermes skills install official/devops/pinggy-tunnel` | | Path | `optional-skills/devops/pinggy-tunnel` | | Version | `0.1.0` | | Author | Teknium (teknium1), Hermes Agent | | License | MIT | | Platforms | linux, macos, windows | | Tags | `Pinggy`, `Tunnel`, `Networking`, `SSH`, `Webhook`, `Localhost` | | Related skills | `cloudflared-quick-tunnel`, [`webhook-subscriptions`](/docs/user-guide/skills/bundled/devops/devops-webhook-subscriptions) | ## Reference: full SKILL.md :::info The following is the complete skill definition that Hermes loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active. ::: # Pinggy Tunnel Skill Expose a local service (dev server, webhook receiver, MCP endpoint, demo) to the public internet using a Pinggy SSH reverse tunnel. No daemon to install — the user's stock SSH client connects to `a.pinggy.io:443` and Pinggy hands back a public HTTP/HTTPS URL. Free tier: 60-minute tunnels, random subdomain, no signup. Pro tier ($3/mo) is an opt-in with a token. ## When to Use - User asks to "expose this locally", "share my dev server", "make this URL public", "tunnel port N", "get a public URL for a webhook" - Need to receive a webhook callback during a local task (Stripe, GitHub, Discord, AgentMail) - Sharing a one-off HTTP demo (MCP server, Ollama/vLLM endpoint, dashboard) with a remote party - The host has SSH but no `cloudflared` / `ngrok` binary, and installing one would be overkill If the host already has `cloudflared` configured, prefer the `cloudflared-quick-tunnel` skill — Cloudflare quick tunnels don't expire after 60 minutes. ## Prerequisites - `ssh` on PATH (`ssh -V`). Default on Linux, macOS, and Windows 10+. No other install. - A local service listening on `127.0.0.1:` before the tunnel starts. Pinggy will return URLs but they'll 502 until the local origin is up. Optional: - `PINGGY_TOKEN` env var for paid Pro features (persistent subdomain, custom domain, multiple tunnels, no 60-minute cap). Free tier needs no credentials. ## Quick Reference ```bash # Plain HTTP/HTTPS tunnel for port 8000 (free tier) ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o ServerAliveInterval=30 \ -R0:localhost:8000 free@a.pinggy.io # TCP tunnel (databases, raw SSH, etc.) ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -R0:localhost:5432 tcp@a.pinggy.io # TLS tunnel (Pinggy can't decrypt — bring your own certs at origin) ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -R0:localhost:443 tls@a.pinggy.io # Basic auth gate (b:user:pass) ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -R0:localhost:8000 \ "b:admin:secret+free@a.pinggy.io" # Bearer token gate (k:token) ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -R0:localhost:8000 \ "k:mysecrettoken+free@a.pinggy.io" # IP whitelist (w:CIDR) ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -R0:localhost:8000 \ "w:203.0.113.0/24+free@a.pinggy.io" # Enable CORS + force HTTPS redirect ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -R0:localhost:8000 \ "co+x:https+free@a.pinggy.io" # Pro tier (persistent URL, no 60-min cap) ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -R0:localhost:8000 "$PINGGY_TOKEN+a.pinggy.io" ``` ## Procedure — Start a Tunnel and Get the URL The model SHOULD use the `terminal` tool. The tunnel must stay alive for the duration of the share, so run it as a background process and parse the public URL from stdout. ### 1. Confirm a local origin is up ```bash curl -sI http://127.0.0.1:8000/ | head -1 # expect HTTP/1.x 200 (or any non-connection-refused response) ``` If nothing is listening yet, start it first (e.g. `python3 -m http.server 8000 --bind 127.0.0.1`). Pinggy will happily return a URL pointed at nothing — the user will see 502 until the origin comes up. ### 2. Launch the tunnel as a background process Use `terminal(background=True)` and capture output to a logfile (Pinggy prints the URLs on stdout, then keeps the connection open): ```bash LOG=/tmp/pinggy-8000.log nohup ssh -p 443 \ -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \ -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \ -o ServerAliveInterval=30 \ -o ServerAliveCountMax=3 \ -R0:localhost:8000 free@a.pinggy.io \ > "$LOG" 2>&1 & echo $! > /tmp/pinggy-8000.pid ``` `StrictHostKeyChecking=no` + `UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null` skips the first-run host-key prompt. `ServerAliveInterval=30` keeps the SSH session from getting torn down by an idle NAT. ### 3. Parse the URL out of the log ```bash sleep 4 grep -oE 'https://[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z]+\.pinggy\.link' /tmp/pinggy-8000.log | head -1 ``` Expected output looks like: ``` You are not authenticated. Your tunnel will expire in 60 minutes. http://yqycl-98-162-69-48.a.free.pinggy.link https://yqycl-98-162-69-48.a.free.pinggy.link ``` Hand the `https://...pinggy.link` URL to the user. ### 4. Verify ```bash curl -sI https:/// | head -3 # expect 200/302/whatever the local origin actually returns ``` If you get `502 Bad Gateway`, the SSH session is up but the local origin isn't listening — fix step 1 first. ### 5. Teardown ```bash kill "$(cat /tmp/pinggy-8000.pid)" # or, if the pid file got lost: pkill -f 'ssh -p 443 .* free@a\.pinggy\.io' ``` If you have a session_id from `terminal(background=True)`, prefer `process(action='kill', session_id=...)`. ## Access Control via Username Keywords Pinggy stacks control flags into the SSH username separated by `+`. Always quote the whole `user@host` argument when it contains a `+`: | Keyword | Effect | |---------|--------| | `b:user:pass` | HTTP Basic auth gate | | `k:token` | Bearer-token header gate (`Authorization: Bearer `) | | `w:CIDR` | IP whitelist (single IP or CIDR, repeatable) | | `co` | Add `Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *` (CORS) | | `x:https` | Force HTTPS — auto-redirect HTTP to HTTPS | | `a:Name:Value` | Add request header | | `u:Name:Value` | Update request header | | `r:Name` | Remove request header | | `qr` | Print a QR code of the URL to stdout (handy for mobile sharing) | Combine freely: `"b:admin:secret+co+x:https+free@a.pinggy.io"`. ## Web Debugger (optional) Pinggy can mirror the inbound traffic to `localhost:4300` for inspection. Add a local forward to the SSH command: ```bash ssh -p 443 -L4300:localhost:4300 -R0:localhost:8000 free@a.pinggy.io ``` Then open `http://localhost:4300` in a browser to see live request/response pairs. ## Pitfalls - **60-minute hard cap on the free tier.** The SSH session terminates at the 60-minute mark; the URL goes dead. For longer shares, either use `PINGGY_TOKEN` (Pro) or auto-restart with a shell loop (note that the URL changes on every restart for free-tier). - **Free-tier URL is random and changes on restart.** Don't bookmark it, don't paste it into a config file. Re-parse from the log each time. - **Concurrent free tunnels are limited to one per source IP.** Starting a second tunnel from the same machine usually kills the first. Pro tier lifts this. - **`+` in usernames must be quoted.** Bare `ssh ... b:admin:secret+free@a.pinggy.io` works in bash but breaks under shells that treat `+` specially or when assembled programmatically. Always wrap in double quotes. - **Don't tunnel anything sensitive without an access-control flag.** A bare HTTP tunnel is reachable by anyone with the URL. Use `b:`, `k:`, or `w:` for non-public services. - **`process(action='log')` may miss SSH banner output.** Pinggy prints the URLs and then the SSH session goes interactive. Always redirect to a logfile and `grep` the file directly — same pattern as `cloudflared-quick-tunnel`. - **Host-key prompt on first run.** Default OpenSSH config asks the user to accept Pinggy's host key. Always pass `-o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null` for unattended runs. - **TCP and TLS tunnels return a `.a.pinggy.online:` pair, not an https URL.** Parse with a different regex (`tcp://` and a port). Don't assume every Pinggy tunnel is HTTP. - **Pro mode requires the token as the username, not a flag.** Use `"$PINGGY_TOKEN+a.pinggy.io"` (no `free@`). With a token you can also add `:persistent` for a stable subdomain — see `pinggy.io/docs/`. ## Recipes Composite patterns combining a local origin with a Pinggy tunnel. Each recipe is self-contained — start the origin, start the tunnel, parse the URL, hand it back to the user. ### Recipe 1 — Receive a webhook callback Use this when an external service (Stripe, GitHub, Discord, AgentMail, etc.) needs to POST to a publicly reachable URL during a local task. ```bash # 1. Tiny capturing server: every request gets appended to /tmp/webhook-hits.log cat >/tmp/webhook-server.py <<'PY' import http.server, json, datetime, pathlib LOG = pathlib.Path("/tmp/webhook-hits.log") class H(http.server.BaseHTTPRequestHandler): def _capture(self): n = int(self.headers.get("content-length") or 0) body = self.rfile.read(n).decode("utf-8", "replace") if n else "" rec = {"t": datetime.datetime.utcnow().isoformat(), "path": self.path, "method": self.command, "headers": dict(self.headers), "body": body} with LOG.open("a") as f: f.write(json.dumps(rec) + "\n") self.send_response(200); self.send_header("content-type","application/json") self.end_headers(); self.wfile.write(b'{"ok":true}\n') def do_GET(self): self._capture() def do_POST(self): self._capture() def log_message(self,*a,**k): pass http.server.HTTPServer(("127.0.0.1", 18080), H).serve_forever() PY nohup python3 /tmp/webhook-server.py >/tmp/webhook-server.log 2>&1 & echo $! >/tmp/webhook-server.pid # 2. Tunnel — bearer-token-gate so randos can't pollute the capture log nohup ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \ -o ServerAliveInterval=30 \ -R0:localhost:18080 "k:$(openssl rand -hex 12)+free@a.pinggy.io" \ >/tmp/webhook-pinggy.log 2>&1 & echo $! >/tmp/webhook-pinggy.pid sleep 5 URL=$(grep -oE 'https://[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z]+\.pinggy\.link' /tmp/webhook-pinggy.log | head -1) echo "Webhook URL: $URL" # 3. While the agent works, watch hits land tail -f /tmp/webhook-hits.log ``` Hand `$URL` to the service that needs to call you. Teardown: `kill $(cat /tmp/webhook-server.pid) $(cat /tmp/webhook-pinggy.pid)`. ### Recipe 2 — Expose an MCP server over HTTP/SSE Use when a remote MCP client (Claude Desktop on another machine, a teammate's editor, etc.) needs to reach an MCP server running on the local box. Only works for MCP servers that speak HTTP transport — stdio-mode servers can't be tunneled. ```bash # 1. Start the MCP server in HTTP mode (example: a FastMCP server on port 8765) nohup python3 my_mcp_server.py --transport http --port 8765 \ >/tmp/mcp-server.log 2>&1 & echo $! >/tmp/mcp-server.pid # 2. Tunnel with a bearer token — MCP traffic should not be open to the internet TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 16) nohup ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \ -o ServerAliveInterval=30 \ -R0:localhost:8765 "k:$TOKEN+free@a.pinggy.io" \ >/tmp/mcp-pinggy.log 2>&1 & echo $! >/tmp/mcp-pinggy.pid sleep 5 URL=$(grep -oE 'https://[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z]+\.pinggy\.link' /tmp/mcp-pinggy.log | head -1) echo "MCP URL: $URL" echo "Bearer token: $TOKEN" ``` The remote client connects to `$URL` with `Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN`. Hermes' own native MCP client config: `{"transport": "http", "url": "", "headers": {"Authorization": "Bearer "}}`. ### Recipe 3 — Expose a local LLM endpoint (Ollama / vLLM / llama.cpp) Share a local model with a remote caller (another agent, a phone, a teammate). Ollama listens on `:11434`, vLLM and llama.cpp typically on `:8000`. ```bash # Pre-req: the model server is already running on 127.0.0.1:11434 (Ollama default) TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 16) nohup ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \ -o ServerAliveInterval=30 \ -R0:localhost:11434 "k:$TOKEN+co+free@a.pinggy.io" \ >/tmp/llm-pinggy.log 2>&1 & echo $! >/tmp/llm-pinggy.pid sleep 5 URL=$(grep -oE 'https://[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z]+\.pinggy\.link' /tmp/llm-pinggy.log | head -1) echo "Endpoint: $URL" echo "Token: $TOKEN" # Verify curl -s "$URL/api/tags" -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" | head ``` `co` enables CORS so a browser caller can hit the endpoint. Drop `co` for backend-only callers. For an OpenAI-compatible vLLM/llama.cpp endpoint, callers use base URL `$URL/v1` with `Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN` — but note Pinggy strips/replaces nothing in the body, so the model server itself sees Pinggy's token; the local server should be configured to ignore auth (it's already on `127.0.0.1`) and let Pinggy do the gating. ### Recipe 4 — Share a dev server with a one-shot password The fastest "let a teammate poke at my running app" pattern. Random password, prints once, dies when you Ctrl-C. ```bash PASS=$(openssl rand -base64 12 | tr -d '+/=' | head -c 12) echo "Dev server password: $PASS" ssh -p 443 -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \ -o ServerAliveInterval=30 \ -R0:localhost:3000 "b:dev:$PASS+co+x:https+free@a.pinggy.io" # URL prints to the terminal. Share URL + password. Ctrl-C to tear down. ``` `b:dev:$PASS` gates the URL with HTTP Basic auth. `x:https` forces TLS. `co` adds CORS for SPA frontends. ## Verification ```bash # End-to-end: spin up a trivial origin, tunnel it, hit it, tear down python3 -m http.server 18000 --bind 127.0.0.1 >/tmp/origin.log 2>&1 & ORIGIN_PID=$! nohup ssh -p 443 \ -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no \ -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null \ -R0:localhost:18000 free@a.pinggy.io >/tmp/pinggy-verify.log 2>&1 & SSH_PID=$! sleep 5 URL=$(grep -oE 'https://[a-z0-9-]+\.[a-z]+\.pinggy\.link' /tmp/pinggy-verify.log | head -1) echo "URL: $URL" curl -sI "$URL/" | head -1 kill "$SSH_PID" "$ORIGIN_PID" ``` Expected: a `pinggy.link` URL and `HTTP/2 200` on the curl head.