Drip: Open-Source Self‑Hosted Tunnel for Unlimited Bandwidth
Drip: Open‑Source Self‑Hosted Tunnel for Unlimited Bandwidth
In the age of remote development and continuous deployment, exposing a local service to the world is a frequent necessity. Whether you’re debugging a new API, staging a website, or just showcasing a prototype, you need a tunnel that puts control back in your hands.
Enter Drip – a Go‑based, self‑hosted tunneling solution that delivers unlimited bandwidth, no third‑party servers, and the peace of mind that your traffic never leaves your own infrastructure.
Why Drip?
| Feature | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Self‑Hosted | Run Drip on your own server or VPS. | Full ownership of data, no leakage or blind spots. |
| Unrestricted Bandwidth | Unlimited tunnels, unlimited data, no throttling. | Ideal for heavy traffic or long‑running demos. |
| Bearer‑Token Auth | Secure your tunnel endpoints with a simple token. | Fine‑grained access control without a UI. |
| Zero‑Cost | Open source, BSD‑3 license, runs on any infra. | No hidden fees or vendor lock‑in. |
| Cross‑Platform | Go binaries for Linux, macOS, Windows. | Install on any system with a single command. |
Quick Setup
Drip comes with a single‑step installer that pulls the latest binary, configures your domain, and starts a basic HTTP tunnel.
bash <(curl -sL https://driptunnel.app/install.sh)
After installation, initialise the configuration once:
# Create config and install dependencies
$ drip config init
# Expose a local HTTP server
$ drip http 3000
# Optional: add a custom subdomain
$ drip http 3000 -n myapp
Your tunnel will be reachable at https://myapp.your-domain.com. If you omit -n, Drip picks a random name.
Advanced Use‑Cases
1. Webhook Development
Expose a local webhook listener and forward traffic to your live service for testing.
$ drip http 8080
# Visit the generated URL from your third‑party provider
2. Multi‑Site Preview
Run multiple tunnels on the same domain using sub‑domains:
$ drip http 3000 -n site1
$ drip http 3001 -n site2
3. Custom TLS and HTTP/2
Drip supports TLS out of the box and can serve HTTP/2 when your upstream supports it. Upgrade your local server to HTTPS and Drip will simply forward the TLS handshake.
Compare With Popular Alternatives
| Tool | Cost | Server Control | Auth | Bandwidth | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ngrok | Free tier $0 but limited. Paid tiers $20+ | No (uses ngrok servers) | Auth via API keys | Limited on free | Great UX, but no control |
| localtunnel | Free | No | OAuth | Unlimited | Simple, but minimal customization |
| PageKite | Free for small usage | No | Token | Limited | Good for HTTP but less flexible |
| Drip | Free | Yes | Bearer‑token | Unlimited | Open source, full control |
Getting Involved
- Contribute: Fork the project, submit pull requests, or open issues on GitHub.
- Documentation: Extensive docs are available on the website and the repo’s
docs/folder. - Community: Reach out on Discord or the issue tracker for support.
Final Thoughts
Drip brings the power of private, unlimited tunnels to your fingertips without the need for a paid service or a cloud provider. Its minimalist design, robust authentication model, and zero‑cost licensing make it an ideal tool for developers who value privacy, performance, and freedom.
Give Drip a try today and take the first step toward a more self‑contained development workflow. Happy tunneling!