Cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe

Open or PowerShell and navigate to where cloudflared.exe lives, then run:

cloudflared.exe tunnel --url http://localhost:3000 Cloudflare gives you a random https://random-name.trycloudflare.com URL. This uses Cloudflare’s Quick Tunnels feature—no authentication, no config. “Access is denied” – Run Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator when installing the service or writing to Program Files . cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe

cloudflared.exe tunnel create my-first-tunnel This creates a tunnel (with a UUID) and stores its credentials in .cloudflared . It also creates a tunnel configuration file template. Open or PowerShell and navigate to where cloudflared

Now, route traffic to a local service. For example, if you run a web app on localhost:3000 : cloudflared

net start cloudflared Or use the Services GUI ( services.msc ). The service automatically runs at boot. | Local Service | Example URL | Config service line | |------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------| | IIS (default website) | http://localhost:80 | service: http://localhost:80 | | Node.js dev server | http://localhost:3000 | service: http://localhost:3000 | | Jellyfin / Plex | http://localhost:8096 | service: http://localhost:8096 | | SMB / RDP (via Access) | tcp://localhost:3389 | service: tcp://localhost:3389 | | SSH | tcp://localhost:22 | service: tcp://localhost:22 |

First, ensure your config is ready. Then:

If you run a web server on your Windows machine—whether for development, home automation, or a personal website—you know that exposing it to the internet can be risky. Port forwarding is messy, dynamic DNS is a hassle, and your ISP might block incoming traffic altogether.