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An HTTPS link to localhost: certificate, hold time and limits

Since app version 1.3.0

An HTTPS tunnel gives you an https://… link to a website or API on your computer. It already has a certificate: browsers show no warnings, and apps and phones open it with no setup. How to create such a tunnel is on the "How to show a localhost site to a client" page.

What works through it​

  • Websites, APIs and WebSocket. The link opens only over https://: it doesn't answer on http://.
  • Requests reach your service with the link's address in the Host header. If your dev server answers "Invalid Host header" or a similar error, allow the link's address in its settings.
  • The link works over HTTP/1.1. Programs that need HTTP/2 only, such as gRPC, don't work through it: they need a TCP tunnel.
  • There is no X-Forwarded-For header with the visitor's address: your service sees the connection as coming from ProximaClient.

How long it's kept and what each plan allows​

PlanBasicProUltra
HTTPS link is kept1 hour after closingthe whole paid period and 7 days morethe whole paid period and 30 days more
Passwords for people per HTTPS link1up to 10up to 10
Keys for programs per HTTPS link1up to 5up to 5

While the tunnel is on, the link doesn't change. What happens to it when the tunnel is off is on the "Why a tunnel's address changes" page.

On the Pro and Ultra plans you can give the link a name of your own:

  1. Open the tunnel, the "Settings" tab, the "Link name" block.
  2. In "Name", enter the name: 4 to 30 characters, Latin letters, digits and hyphens inside.
  3. Click "Save name", then "Change".

The app shows "New link: …". Send it to the people who use the link: the old one has stopped working. Nobody else can take your former name, and you can take it back later.

What a visitor sees when the service is down​

  • "Service not responding": ProximaClient is connected, but the service on the computer doesn't answer. Start it or check the port in "Destination address".
  • "Service unavailable": the tunnel is off, reconnecting, or the app is closed. Turn the tunnel on.

Both pages reload by themselves once the service answers.

To let only your people open the link, close it with a login and password or a key, or let in only the IP addresses you choose.