Microsoft Dev Tunnels
Microsoft's service for sharing a local web server over the internet during development.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 3
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Microsoft Dev Tunnels
Dev tunnels is Microsoft's service for sharing a local web server over the internet while you develop. You use it through the devtunnel command-line tool, or through Visual Studio and VS Code, which build it into their port-forwarding features, and it also powers forwarding in GitHub Codespaces. By default a tunnel is private: only you can open it after signing in with a Microsoft, Microsoft Entra ID or GitHub account, and you can add anonymous or organisation-wide access when you need to share a preview or receive webhooks. A tunnel can expose several ports at once, keep the same URL between sessions, and let you inspect traffic with the browser's DevTools. Microsoft positions it for ad hoc testing rather than production, and it is still labelled a public preview without a service-level agreement. It costs nothing to use within its usage limits. The CLI runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Best for: Visual Studio and VS Code users who want a private tunnel tied to their Microsoft or GitHub login.
Pros and cons
What works
- Private by default, tied to your Microsoft or GitHub login
- Built into Visual Studio and VS Code port forwarding
- Persistent URLs and multiple ports per tunnel
- No cost
Why people leave
- Still a public preview with no service-level agreement
- Meant for development, not production traffic
- Requires an account; no anonymous quick start
Top Microsoft Dev Tunnels alternatives
See all 3- 1
ngrok66.5More mature service with a request inspector, custom domains and production-ready plans.
- 2
Cloudflare Tunnel62.6Free and production-grade, with stable hostnames on your own domain and Cloudflare's protection.
- 3
Tailscale50.3Share a local service privately with your own devices, or publicly through Funnel, without leaving your network.
Why people left Microsoft Dev Tunnels
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Microsoft Dev Tunnels: common questions
Is Microsoft Dev Tunnels free?
Yes, Microsoft Dev Tunnels is free to use.
Is Microsoft Dev Tunnels open source?
No, Microsoft Dev Tunnels is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Tailscale.
What platforms does Microsoft Dev Tunnels run on?
Microsoft Dev Tunnels is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
What are the best alternatives to Microsoft Dev Tunnels?
The highest-ranked Microsoft Dev Tunnels alternatives right now are ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel and Tailscale. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.