Switch from a Cloudflare quick tunnel to qURL

Checked against the qURL™ CLI 3.4.1 source and documentation on October 14, 2026. Link and session behaviour is tested separately.

Content updated October 18, 2026. The verification date above records the original review; later behaviour checks are dated in the guide.

What is the qURL command for cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3000?

Replace cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3000 with qurl publish http://127.0.0.1:3000, then run qurl share <CRID> for each person. Neither needs an account. qURL gives the app no public trycloudflare.com address, its links expire on their own, and Server-Sent Events pass through. Keep a quick tunnel for a throwaway public demo or a webhook sender.

What you need

• An HTTP app running on this machine that you shared with cloudflared, for example on port 3000
• The qURL CLI 3.4.1 or later
• No account, API key, or sign-in

Steps

1. Map your cloudflared command

   A quick tunnel gives the app a random trycloudflare.com hostname that changes each run and works for anyone who has it until cloudflared stops, unless you add --allowed-mail. qurl publish takes the same local address and gives the app no public hostname; qurl share makes a link for one recipient. For named people, the counterpart of --allowed-mail is an email invitation through the qURL skill, shown in the contractor guide.

   # Cloudflare quick tunnel                         # qURL
   cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3000    # qurl publish http://127.0.0.1:3000
                                                     # qurl share <CRID>   (one link per person)
   --allowed-mail (emailed one-time PIN)             # email invitations through the qURL skill
   stop cloudflared                                  # qurl stop <CRID>, or qurl delete <CRID>

2. Install the qURL CLI

   On macOS, install it with Homebrew. On Linux and Windows, download the package for your platform from the latest release; the CLI page lists each one. Nothing asks you to sign up.

   brew install layervai/tap/qurl
   qurl --version

3. Publish the app

   The first publish creates this device’s identity, starts a background service that keeps serving after you close the terminal (while you stay logged in), and prints the app’s CRID, its stable ID. The Access row says who can open the app: a plain publish makes it private from qurl 3.4.1 on. qurl share turns the CRID into an access link, and the link is what you send. qurl publish connects to localhost as 127.0.0.1; if your app listens only on IPv6, publish 'http://[::1]:3000' instead.

   qurl publish http://127.0.0.1:3000

   Published
   
     Target:  http://127.0.0.1:3000
     Access:  private — only you and the people you allow can open it
     Status:  serving
   
   CRID: ae4jqpd7eaoslq7jinmjv4yikgzmcxgpjfsuobiniqnko32lpw743ivbeyha

4. Create a link for each person

   qurl share prints an access link (https://qurl.link/#…). On a terminal, the lines below it say who published the resource and when the link expires, for example “Expires in 1d (single use)”. Today LayerV has verified only its own account, so for every other publisher the Publisher line says UNVERIFIED. With no flags the link can be opened once and expires within 24 hours. If the expiry line does not say “single use”, don’t send the link. Add --ttl 1h for a shorter window.

   qurl share <CRID>

5. Allow qurl.site in your dev server

   Requests through a qURL link arrive with a qurl.site host. If you added .trycloudflare.com to Vite’s server.allowedHosts or *.trycloudflare.com to Next.js allowedDevOrigins for the tunnel, add .qurl.site and *.qurl.site beside it and restart the dev server. Leave off --host: qURL reaches the dev server on localhost.

   // vite.config.js (merge into your existing config)
   export default {
     server: { allowedHosts: ['.qurl.site'] },
   }
   // next.config.js
   module.exports = {
     allowedDevOrigins: ['*.qurl.site'],
   }

6. Send the link to one person

   Send it in a direct message, not a public channel: whoever opens it first uses it. Avoid email and apps that preview links, because a scanner that runs the page could use its one opening. Don’t open it yourself to check it, for the same reason. Run qurl share again whenever you need a fresh link.

What the recipient sees

The recipient clicks the link and lands on your app at an address like https://r_….qurl.site/, with no sign-up or install. WebSockets reach the app, and Server-Sent Events arrive unbuffered. Their session lasts 1 hour by default, and your app’s own login still applies if it has one.

Troubleshooting

Frequently Asked Questions