How Use ngrok in Windows (2020)

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Written by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: September 6, 2022

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Ngrok is a command-line software that allows developers to use their local server on the Internet. This wikiHow will teach you how to use ngrok in Windows.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

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Go to https://ngrok.com/download. You can use any web browser to download ngrok.
A .zip file will download.

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Many web browsers will display a notification when a file is downloading; if you don't see this, you can find the downloaded file in your "Downloads" folder.
Extract ngrok.exe. When you double-click to open the .zip, you'll see the files within. Click Extract all (if you don't see this, click Compressed Folder Tools) then choose a location for the file to move to and click Extract.^{[1]
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Method 2

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It's in your Start menu, most likely under "Recently added."
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Type "ngrok authtoken <your_auth_token>" and press ↵ Enter. Replace "your_auth_token" with your personal authtoken, and this will add your authtoken to your ngrok.yml file. To find your Authtoken, go to https://dashboard.ngrok.com/, sign in, click Authentication > Your Authtoken in the menu on the left side of the page. Your Authtoken is listed at the top of the page.
- If you don't have an account, you can sign up for a free account at https://dashboard.ngrok.com/signup. You'll need an account in order to use ngrok.
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Type "ngrok help" and press ↵ Enter. You'll see a wall of text explaining what ngrok can do with your commands.
- To run a local server to the Internet, let ngrok know which port to run. For example, type "ngrok http 80" if your server is running from port 80 (which is the default).^{[2]
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