Wormhole

Secure tunnels for agents, automation, and worktrees.

Expose local HTTP(S) and TCP services through your own relay, Tailscale, Cloudflare,
or all three at once—with stable worktree URLs and automation-first APIs.

Start in 2 minutes

1. Install

Homebrew adds nikuscs/tap automatically. Wormhole is a formula; the unrelated wormhole cask is not this project.

brew install nikuscs/tap/wormhole

Update or remove it:

brew upgrade wormhole
brew uninstall wormhole

Standalone installer:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf https://github.com/nikuscs/wormhole/releases/latest/download/wormhole-cli-installer.sh | sh

Build both binaries from source:

make install

2. Install the agent skill

npx skills add nikuscs/wormhole --skill wormhole-cli

Use --global for all projects. Update either installation with:

npx skills update wormhole-cli
npx skills update wormhole-cli --global

Works with Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Pi, and other Agent Skills clients.

3. Connect to a relay

Show or create this machine's identity:

wormhole key show

Create an invite on the relay, then add it on the client:

# On the relay server (single use, 10-minute default expiry):
wormholed invite create --name laptop

# On the client:
wormhole remote add myvps tun.example.com:443 --invite <token>
wormhole domains

Run wormhole remote add alone for the interactive wizard. Scripts must pass NAME, ADDR, and the invite. Useful relay commands:

Reusable invite: wormholed invite create --name personal-devices --reusable
Inspect invites: wormholed invite ls
Revoke one: wormholed invite revoke <invite-id>
Break-glass authorization: wormholed key authorize "<public-key>" --name laptop

Invites are shown once and stored only as digests. The first relay becomes the default; wormhole domains lists its public domains. Control uses QUIC with secure WebSocket fallback. Config lives at ~/.config/wormhole/config.toml; keys live at ~/.config/wormhole/keys/. Override config with WORMHOLE_CONFIG or --config PATH.

4. Expose something

Existing service:

wormhole http 3000

Example result: https://misty-otter-3f2a.tun.example.com.

Development command:

wormhole run -- bun run dev

wormhole run sets PORT, starts the child, detects its listener, exposes it, and cleans up on exit. It injects WORMHOLE_URL, APP_URL, and VITE_APP_URL, plus detected framework aliases: NEXT_PUBLIC_{APP,SITE}_URL, NUXT_PUBLIC_{APP,SITE}_URL, PUBLIC_{APP,SITE}_URL, or EXPO_PUBLIC_APP_URL. Injected values override project .env files. Compatible --port and --host flags are supplied for common frameworks; explicit flags win. Temporary relay endpoints set X-Robots-Tag to noindex, nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet. This is not access control.

Declarative worktree project:

wormhole up

This starts the current worktree's wormhole.toml services.

Provider commands

A Wormhole relay is optional for Tailscale and Cloudflare:

wormhole http 3000 --endpoint tailscale
wormhole http 3000 --endpoint tailscale:funnel
wormhole http 3000 --endpoint cloudflare:quick
wormhole http 3000 --endpoint cloudflare:named --host app.example.com --persist
wormhole http 3000 --endpoint wormhole --endpoint tailscale --endpoint cloudflare

Tailscale uses the local tailscaled login. Cloudflare quick tunnels need no login; named tunnels use cloudflared tunnel login.

Framework allowlists

Vite receives the public host through __VITE_ADDITIONAL_SERVER_ALLOWED_HOSTS.

For Next.js, derive allowedDevOrigins in next.config.js from the injected WORMHOLE_URL:

const wormholeHost = process.env.WORMHOLE_URL
  ? new URL(process.env.WORMHOLE_URL).hostname
  : undefined

module.exports = {
  // Preserve any existing Next.js configuration here.
  allowedDevOrigins: wormholeHost ? [wormholeHost] : [],
}

Or allow a dedicated static namespace:

module.exports = {
  allowedDevOrigins: ['*.wormhole.example.com'],
}

Merge with existing entries. Use only a Wormhole preview namespace. See the Next.js documentation.

Stable worktree URLs

Stable identities require no config. Wormhole derives them from the Git repository name, service, and branch:

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev:app": "vite",
    "dev": "wormhole run -- bun run dev:app"
  }
}

tun.example.com below represents your relay domain:

Checkout/worktree	Command	Generated URL
Dashboard `main`	`wormhole run -- bun run dev`	`https://dashboard.tun.example.com`
Dashboard `feat/theme-editor`	`wormhole run -- bun run dev`	`https://dashboard-feat-theme-editor.tun.example.com`
Dashboard `fix/mobile-nav`	`wormhole http 3000`	`https://dashboard-fix-mobile-nav.tun.example.com`
Docs site `main`	`wormhole run -- npm run dev`	`https://docs-site.tun.example.com`
Rust API `feat/health-check`	`wormhole run -- cargo run`	`https://rust-api-feat-health-check.tun.example.com`

The default branch suffix and port are omitted. The relay reserves the label, Tailscale gets a deterministic HTTPS port, and Cloudflare named tunnels use the same label.

Names resolve in order: --host, the nearest wormhole.toml name, the Git repository name, the package.json name, then the folder. wormhole.toml is read from the current directory upwards, stopping at the repository root, so every package in a monorepo inherits one project name. A repository-derived name gains the subdirectory as a suffix, keeping apps/web and apps/api distinct.

The name accepts {repo}, {branch}, {service}, {dir}, and {worktree} placeholders. Using {branch} or {service} suppresses the automatic suffix so the template controls the whole label:

name = "{repo}-{branch}"

Set the Cloudflare DNS zone in the environment or .env:

WORMHOLE_DOMAIN=preview.example.com

Optional defaults:

[defaults]
domain = "preview.example.com"
drivers = ["tailscale", "cloudflare:named"]
tailscale_https_port_range = { start = 20000, end = 49999 }
# Set false to opt out of automatic stable identities.
stable_worktree_urls = false

Priority: explicit --host/--public-port/wormhole.toml, then WORMHOLE_DOMAIN, .env, and shared config. Use wormhole.toml for multi-service wormhole up projects.

Deploy a Cloudflare Worker relay

The Worker relay in crates/wormholed-cloudflare provides signed WebSocket control, invite enrollment, stable HTTP hosts, streaming, edge auth, and Durable Object state.

Deploy to a dedicated namespace:

wormhole relay deploy cloudflare --domain wormhole.example.com

--domain selects the namespace. This example uses relay.wormhole.example.com for control and myapp.wormhole.example.com for apps without touching example.com, www.example.com, or stuff.example.com. Using --domain example.com creates myapp.example.com but can intercept existing *.example.com hosts.

The command verifies its versioned bundle, runs pinned Wrangler, sends generated secrets through stdin, and rolls back failed deployment/onboarding. Use --dry-run or --bundle PATH for local or offline validation. Production needs a Cloudflare API token, active zone, Node.js/npm, and Durable Objects. Workers Logs are off by default.

Manual DNS

Custom Domains do not support the wildcard needed for generated app hosts. For --domain wormhole.example.com, create:

Type	Name	Target	Proxy status
A	`relay.wormhole`	`192.0.2.1`	Proxied
A	`*.wormhole`	`192.0.2.1`	Proxied

192.0.2.1 is an originless documentation placeholder; the Worker Route handles requests. Then run:

wormhole relay deploy cloudflare --domain wormhole.example.com --manual-dns

Manual mode skips zone/DNS APIs but still deploys the Worker, routes, migration, secrets, health check, and onboarding. Use VPS wormholed for QUIC, raw TCP, arbitrary upgrades, WebSocket extensions/raw bytes, or offline webhook buffering. See the Cloudflare Worker guide.

Deployment does not configure WAF rate limiting. Public hostname traffic invokes the Durable Object, so add a rate limiting rule for the wildcard hosts before real use. See Cost and abuse controls.

Run a VPS relay

After pointing apex and wildcard DNS at Debian/Ubuntu:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf \
  https://github.com/nikuscs/wormhole/releases/latest/download/wormholed-bootstrap.sh \
  | sudo sh

Noninteractive Cloudflare DNS-01 install:

sudo chmod 600 /root/cloudflare.token
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf \
  https://github.com/nikuscs/wormhole/releases/latest/download/wormholed-bootstrap.sh \
  | sudo sh -s -- --domain tun.example.com --email ops@example.com \
      --cloudflare-token-file /root/cloudflare.token -y

-y accepts the plan. UFW and overwrite still require --configure-ufw and --force. Secrets are never accepted as arguments. Without a client key, bootstrap prints one single-use invite. See the server deployment guide.

What you get

One command for Wormhole, Tailscale, Cloudflare, or all three
HTTP(S), raw TCP, stable worktree URLs, and declarative projects
Process supervision, inspection/replay, retries, and durable webhook buffering
Self-hosted VPS and Cloudflare Worker relays
Deterministic JSON and a local Unix-socket API; no web UI required

Capability	Wormhole	ngrok	Others	portless
Self-hosted public relay	Yes	Enterprise offering	Varies	No
HTTP and raw TCP forwarding	Yes	Yes	Varies	Local HTTP routing
One command, multiple providers	Wormhole + Tailscale + Cloudflare	ngrok network	Usually one provider	Local routing + integrations
Worktree-scoped services	Yes	No	Varies	Yes
Request inspection and replay	Local CLI/API	Hosted inspector	Varies	No
Durable offline webhook buffering	Yes	No	Varies	No
Deterministic JSON and local APIs	Yes	CLI/API	Varies	CLI

Alternatives: LocalCan for native macOS and .local domains, Cloudflare Tunnel, ngrok, Tailscale Funnel, zrok, portless, and LocalTunnel.

API and documentation

With the daemon running, open http://127.0.0.1:52731/docs. Management uses the daemon bearer token. Remote onboarding is available through GET /v1/remotes, POST /v1/remotes, and DELETE /v1/remotes/{name}; invite values are never returned or persisted.

License

Wormhole is MIT licensed. Release archives and container images include the license and generated third-party notices. Cloudflare and Tailscale tools are separate products subject to their own licenses and terms; Wormhole is not affiliated with either company.

Development

Requires Rust 1.97+.

make lint
make test
make e2e

After a clean push, make signoff runs formatting, lint, size, build, tests, E2E, shell/bootstrap, and dependency policy before recording gh-signoff. Cloud CI runs only with a PR's run-ci label or workflow_dispatch; macOS and coverage remain manual.

make coverage writes workspace coverage. make coverage-e2e adds ignored local-socket E2E flows and writes HTML to target/llvm-cov/html.

_{Worm icon from Twemoji, licensed under CC BY 4.0.}

Warning

This project was developed with AI assistance. Review it before production or security-sensitive use.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 22 Commits
.agents		.agents
.github		.github
apps/macos		apps/macos
crates		crates
deploy		deploy
docs		docs
scripts		scripts
skills/wormhole-cli		skills/wormhole-cli
tests/cloudflare		tests/cloudflare
.dockerignore		.dockerignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
AGENTS.md		AGENTS.md
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CLAUDE.md		CLAUDE.md
Cargo.lock		Cargo.lock
Cargo.toml		Cargo.toml
LICENSE		LICENSE
Makefile		Makefile
README.md		README.md
THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES		THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES
about.hbs		about.hbs
about.toml		about.toml
clippy.toml		clippy.toml
deny.toml		deny.toml
dist-workspace.toml		dist-workspace.toml
rust-toolchain.toml		rust-toolchain.toml
rustfmt.toml		rustfmt.toml

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Wormhole

Start in 2 minutes

1. Install

2. Install the agent skill

3. Connect to a relay

4. Expose something

Provider commands

Framework allowlists

Stable worktree URLs

Deploy a Cloudflare Worker relay

Manual DNS

Run a VPS relay

What you get

API and documentation

License

Development

About

Releases

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Contributors

Languages

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Repository files navigation

Wormhole

Start in 2 minutes

1. Install

2. Install the agent skill

3. Connect to a relay

4. Expose something

Provider commands

Framework allowlists

Stable worktree URLs

Deploy a Cloudflare Worker relay

Manual DNS

Run a VPS relay

What you get

API and documentation

License

Development

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