Ngrok
Ngrok is a cross-platform application that creates secure tunnels to expose local servers to the internet. It provides a public URL (e.g., https://your-subdomain.ngrok.io) that forwards traffic to a specified port on your local machine, enabling developers to test webhooks, APIs, and web applications without deploying them to a public server. It also offers features like request inspection, authentication, and traffic replay for debugging purposes.
Developers should use Ngrok when they need to share a locally running development server with others, such as for testing webhooks from third-party services (e.g., Stripe, GitHub), demonstrating an API to clients, or collaborating remotely on a project. It is particularly useful in scenarios where setting up a staging environment is time-consuming or when debugging network issues in local development, as it simplifies exposing services securely over HTTPS with minimal configuration.