> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://smallsharpsoftwaretools.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Forward Services with Bore
If you need to make a local network service available to the outside world, you can use tools like [localtunnel](https://github.com/localtunnel/localtunnel) or [ngrok](https://ngrok.com/). [bore](https://github.com/ekzhang/bore) is a small, open-source alternative that lets you run both a client and server. It's efficient, small, and fast. More importantly, it has no dependencies, so you don't need a language runtime installed to use it.
In this tutorial you'll forward a service using `bore` and its free public server, and then you'll explore how to set up your own server with an authentication secret.
## What You Need
* To set up `bore` on macOS using Homebrew, you'll need Homebrew installed, which you can do by following the [Install Homebrew]({{< ref "homebrew" >}}) tutorial.
* A service to forward, such as a web application. If you don't have one, you'll create one in this tutorial using netcat.
* Install `netcat` with your package manager on Linux, or Homebrew on macOS.
## Installing Bore
The `bore` CLI tool is a single binary that includes both a client and a server.
On macOS, install `bore` with Homebrew using the following command:
```command
brew install bore-cli
```
For other languages, download the binary from [the releases page](https://github.com/ekzhang/bore/releases) and copy the file to a location on your `PATH`.
Once you have `bore` installed, you can forward ports to a free public server.
## Forwarding a Service to bore.pub
`bore.pub` is a hosted server that `bore` can forward to so you don't need to self-host the server. It's great for testing.
First, you'll need a minimal server. You can do this an existing web server you're using, but for a quick test, you can use netcat.
Create a file called `index.http` that contains an HTTP response, with the header and body separated by a single line:
```html
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Server: netcat
Bore test
Hello from my local network.
```
Now use an infinite loop in your shell to serve the file with netcat on port 3000:
```command
while true; do cat index.http | nc -l 3000; done
```
This starts netcat listening on port `3000`. Incoming connections will serve the HTTP response in `index.http`.
In another terminal, test the service to ensure it works using `curl`:
```command
curl -i localhost:3000
```
You'll see the response in the terminal:
```output
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Server: netcat
Bore test
Hello from my local network.
```
Now use `bore` to forward the port to the free public `bore.pub` server using the following command::
```command
bore local 3000 --to bore.pub
```
The client starts and forwards the port, displaying the external port it's listening on:
```output
2023-02-20T20:21:31.767961Z INFO bore_cli::client: connected to server remote_port=35429
2023-02-20T20:21:31.768010Z INFO bore_cli::client: listening at bore.pub:35429
```
Bore assigns a different remote port on every run if you don't specify one.
In yet another Terminal window, connect to `bore.pub:your_port` using `curl`:
```command
curl -i bore.pub:your_port
```
You'll see your server's response again.
Switch to the window running `bore`. The `bore` CLI tool also prints a log message showing the connection details:
```output
2023-02-20T20:21:50.704301Z INFO proxy{id=ea685f15-7579-4d49-91eb-6b835082cc45}: bore_cli::client: new connection
2023-02-20T20:21:50.748621Z INFO proxy{id=ea685f15-7579-4d49-91eb-6b835082cc45}: bore_cli::client: connection exited
```
Press `CTRL+C` to stop `bore`.
Using the public `bore.pub` server works in a pinch, but you can create your own server too.
## Running Your Own Server
For more secure environments, you may want to run your own server instead of relying on the public `bore.pub` service. The `bore` CLI includes the server component.
On a remote machine, install `bore` and start it with the following command:
```command
bore server
```
This starts the server listening on port `7835`:
```output
2023-02-20T20:28:39.642766Z INFO bore_cli::server: server listening addr=0.0.0.0:7835
```
On your local machine, establish the client connection:
```command
bore local 3000 --to your_remote_server
```
You can specify the port using the `-p` option:
```command
bore local 3000 --to your_remote_server -p 9999
```
Anyone using `bore` can use your service. If you want to restrict it, you can start the service with a secret that the client needs to supply.
Run the server with the `-s` option:
```command
bore server -s 12345
```
This starts `bore` with the super secret password of `12345` which you supply when you try to use the client:
```command
bore local 3000 --to your_remote_server -p 9999 -s 12345
```
Secrets passed to commands are often visible to people looking at process lists or history, so you can also use the `BORE_SECRET` environment variable. If you've set this variable, `bore` uses it automatically. You'll need to set this variable on the client and the server.
## Conclusion
`bore` gives you a fast way to share a local service with others across the Internet without needing to configure firewall rules or set up complex tooling. It provides a lightweight alternative to other tools that have dependencies.