Documentation
Getting Started

Getting Started

MekongTunnel is a self-hosted SSH tunnel server written in Go. It works like ngrok or Cloudflare Tunnel, but you control it.

Run one command and expose any local port to the internet with a public HTTPS URL:

mekong 3000

You get:

  • A unique public URL: https://happy-tiger-a1b2.mekongtunnel.dev
  • The URL copied to your clipboard automatically
  • A QR code printed in your terminal
  • Live HTTP request logs streamed to your terminal
  • Auto-reconnect if the connection drops

New in v1.5.0:

  • One-liner installers: curl -fsSL https://mekongtunnel.dev/install.sh | sh (macOS/Linux) and irm https://mekongtunnel.dev/install.ps1 | iex (Windows)
  • mekong login — authenticate via browser device flow, get a reserved subdomain
  • mekong whoami — show your account email and plan
  • mekong test — run a self-test to verify the tunnel is working
  • Windows arm64 support
  • VS Code extension v1.5.0 with account/login panel

New in v1.4.6+:

  • Daemon management: mekong -d 3000, mekong logs, mekong logs -f
  • Filter daemon logs by port: mekong logs 3000
  • Stop one daemon tunnel: mekong stop 3000 or stop all: mekong stop --all
  • mekong status shows per-port daemon state and PID info

New in v1.4.4:

  • Tunnel expiry with -e / --expire flags
  • mekong status shows expiry in output

Prerequisites

  • macOS, Linux, or Windows
  • A running local service on any port

That's it. No config file. No dashboard.

Quick start

Step 1 — Install the CLI

# macOS / Linux — one-liner
curl -fsSL https://mekongtunnel.dev/install.sh | sh
 
# Windows PowerShell
irm https://mekongtunnel.dev/install.ps1 | iex

See the Installation page for all platforms and manual options.

Step 2 — Log in (optional but recommended for reserved subdomain)

mekong login
# Opens browser → approve → saves ~/.mekong/config.json
# Every tunnel will use your reserved subdomain from now on

Step 3 — Start a local server (or use your existing app)

python3 -m http.server 3000

Step 4 — Open a tunnel

mekong 3000

You'll see the banner with your public URL within seconds.

Verify everything works

mekong test
# Runs a self-test: connects, opens tunnel, verifies response
mekong whoami
# Shows your account email and plan

What happens under the hood

When you run mekong 3000, the CLI:

  1. Connects to mekongtunnel.dev over SSH on port 22
  2. Sends a tcpip-forward request to ask the server to forward traffic
  3. The server assigns you a memorable subdomain and starts listening
  4. A public HTTPS URL is displayed in your terminal
  5. Incoming requests are forwarded to your localhost:3000 via the SSH channel

See How It Works for a full technical walkthrough.

Ecosystem

MekongTunnel has official packages for multiple languages and editors:

PackageInstallUse case
mekong-cli (npm)npm install -g mekong-cliNode.js dev server + tunnel in one command
mekong-tunnel (PyPI)pip install mekong-tunnelPython framework wrappers (FastAPI, Flask, Django…)
VS Code ExtensionExtensions panel: KhmerStack.mekong-tunnelManage tunnels from your editor

Next steps

Installation