Self-hosted tunnels with full control and privacy.

Self-hosted HTTP and TCP tunnels with full control, privacy, and no rate limits. Run them yourself, use our managed cloud, or embed them in your product. Your traffic and data always stay yours.

Webhooks and previews Ingress to local Kubernetes Customer on-prem Edge devices Hybrid cloud Multi-cluster ArgoCD

View pricing Read the docs

bash — blog.example.com

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One tunnel, three ways to run it

Pick the path that fits your use case.

Self-hosted

inlets Pro

Run the tunnel server yourself on any cloud VM. Ideal for webhooks, previews, homelabs, and hybrid cloud.

Public or private endpoints
HTTP and pure TCP
Flat pricing, no metering

Set up an HTTPS tunnel

Managed

Inlets Cloud

Public HTTPS or SSH endpoints in seconds. We run the tunnel servers, you bring your domain.

Instant, automated TLS
Bring your own domain
Headless CLI for agents & automation

Explore Inlets Cloud

Embed

Inlets Uplink

Connect to customer networks, fleets, and devices from your own Kubernetes control plane.

Multi-tenant by design
Private by default
API and CRD provisioning

Explore Inlets Uplink

Why inlets

A private, self-hosted alternative to SaaS tunnels.

Ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel, and Tailscale are convenient, but your traffic runs on their network, under their terms, with their limits. inlets keeps you in control.

Self-hosted and private

Your traffic never passes through a vendor's shared edge. Run the tunnel server on infrastructure you own and control.

You own your data

No third-party terms granting rights over what flows through your tunnels. Your data and logs stay on your side.

No AI training on your data

Your traffic and personal data are never used to train AI models, and never shared with a third party to do so.

No rate limits or metering

No per-request caps, no throttling, and no surprise bandwidth bills. Move as much traffic as your servers allow.

Raw TCP, not just HTTP

Tunnel databases, SSH, RTSP, RDP, and other TCP services, not only web traffic. inlets Pro can even tunnel UDP for DNS.

Automate everything

Provision and drive tunnels headlessly with a CLI, REST API, or Kubernetes Custom Resources. AI agents and automation can set them up and tear them down end to end.

How it works

Explore common setups for HTTPS, TCP, Kubernetes, Cloud, and Uplink.

api.example.com

Self-host HTTPS for a local app

Provision a public tunnel server with inletsctl, then connect your local HTTP service using your own domain.

$ inletsctl create \
  --provider digitalocean \
  --region lon1 \
  --access-token-file ~/digital-ocean-api-key.txt \
  --letsencrypt-domain api.example.com

$ inlets-pro http client \
  --url wss://178.62.70.130:8123 \
  --token-file ./token.txt \
  --upstream "api.example.com=http://127.0.0.1:3000"

$ curl "https://api.example.com/v1/import"

HTTP tunnel guide → Add authentication →

178.62.70.130

Expose multiple TCP ports without SaaS tunnel limits

Provision a TCP tunnel VM with inletsctl, then connect local services such as webhooks or SSH over the same tunnel.

$ inletsctl create \
  --provider digitalocean \
  --region lon1 \
  --access-token-file ~/digital-ocean-api-key.txt \
  --tcp

$ inlets-pro tcp client --url wss://178.62.70.130:8123 \
  --token-file ./token.txt \
  --upstream "192.168.0.35" \
  --ports "8080,2222"

$ curl "http://178.62.70.130:8080/function/webhook"
$ ssh -p 2222 "pi@178.62.70.130"

TCP use-case →

kubernetes / loadbalancer

Expose a local Kubernetes service

Install the inlets-operator Helm chart, then create a LoadBalancer service and wait for a public IP.

# Install the inlets-operator Helm chart, then:
$ kubectl run nginx-1 --image=nginx --port=80 --restart=Always
$ kubectl expose pod/nginx-1 --port=80 --type=LoadBalancer

$ kubectl get services -w
NAME              TYPE           CLUSTER-IP         EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)   AGE
service/nginx-1   LoadBalancer   192.168.226.216         80/TCP    78s
service/nginx-1   LoadBalancer   192.168.226.216    104.248.163.242   80/TCP    78s

$ curl -s "http://104.248.163.242:80/"

inlets-operator →

tryinlets.dev

Get a managed HTTPS tunnel

Install the Cloud plugin, authenticate once, create a generated tunnel, then connect it to a local service.

$ inlets-pro plugin get cloud
$ inlets-pro cloud auth login \
  --token "$(cat ~/.inlets/cloud-access-token)"

$ inlets-pro cloud tunnel create http inlets-landing

$ inlets-pro cloud tunnel connect inlets-landing \
  --upstream http://127.0.0.1:4000

inlets-pro uplink client --url=wss://cambs1.uplink.inlets.dev/user/inlets-landing --token=REDACTED --upstream=moyona.cambs1.tryinlets.dev=http://127.0.0.1:4000

Open Inlets Cloud →

uplink.example.com

Manage a customer's Kubernetes cluster centrally

Tunnel a customer's API server back to your control plane, then drive it with kubectl or ArgoCD like any other cluster.

# A tunnel for the customer's Kubernetes API server
apiVersion: uplink.inlets.dev/v1alpha1
kind: Tunnel
metadata:
  name: kubernetes
  namespace: customer1
spec:
  tcpPorts:
    - 6443

# The customer runs a client inside their cluster
inlets-pro uplink client \
  --url wss://uplink.example.com/customer1/kubernetes \
  --upstream 6443=kubernetes.default.svc:443 \
  --token-file ./token.txt

# Reach the API privately from your control plane
$ kubectl --server https://kubernetes.customer1:6443 get nodes
NAME     STATUS   ROLES           AGE   VERSION
kube-1   Ready    control-plane   40d   v1.31.2

# ArgoCD can now manage it like any other cluster

ArgoCD with Uplink →

Which inlets is right for you?

Self-host with inlets Pro, get managed tunnels with Inlets Cloud, or embed private connectivity in your product with Uplink.

inlets Pro

Best for: Webhooks, previews, homelabs
Server: Tunnel server hosted in a public cloud VM
Client: Windows, macOS, Linux, containers, Kubernetes
Scale: Small numbers of tunnels
Endpoints: Public or private
Multi-tenant: No
Management: Manual / self-service
Provisioning: CLI
Starting price: 25 USD / mo for Personal, 50 USD / mo for Commercial

Inlets Cloud

Best for: Public HTTPS and SSH endpoints, sharing, remote access
Server: Managed by inlets, in EU and US regions
Client: Windows, macOS, Linux, containers, Kubernetes
Scale: A few tunnels per account
Endpoints: Public HTTPS and SSH
Multi-tenant: One tenant per account
Management: Fully managed
Provisioning: CLI, dashboard, or Kubernetes YAML
Starting price: Included with an Inlets Pro subscription

Inlets Uplink

Best for: Connect to customers, hybrid cloud, service providers
Server: Your own Kubernetes cluster
Client: Windows, macOS, Linux, containers, Kubernetes
Scale: 10+ tunnels, scales to thousands
Endpoints: Private by default
Multi-tenant: Yes, you host many
Management: Managed control plane
Provisioning: Tunnel CLI, REST API, Kubernetes Custom Resource
Starting price: 250 USD / mo, includes 10 tunnels

Category	inlets Pro	Inlets Cloud	Inlets Uplink
Best for	Webhooks, previews, homelabs	Public HTTPS and SSH endpoints, sharing, remote access	Connect to customers, hybrid cloud, service providers
Server	Tunnel server hosted in a public cloud VM	Managed by inlets, in EU and US regions	Your own Kubernetes cluster
Client	Windows, macOS, Linux, containers, Kubernetes	Windows, macOS, Linux, containers, Kubernetes	Windows, macOS, Linux, containers, Kubernetes
Scale	Small numbers of tunnels	A few tunnels per account	10+ tunnels, scales to thousands
Endpoints	Public or private	Public HTTPS and SSH	Private by default
Multi-tenant	No	One tenant per account	Yes, you host many
Management	Manual / self-service	Fully managed	Managed control plane
Provisioning	CLI	CLI, dashboard, or Kubernetes YAML	Tunnel CLI, REST API, Kubernetes Custom Resource
Starting price	25 USD / mo for Personal, 50 USD / mo for Commercial	Included with an Inlets Pro subscription	250 USD / mo, includes 10 tunnels

Read the inlets Pro docs, explore Inlets Cloud, or read the Uplink docs.

Key use cases

A few practical examples covering customer connectivity, securing exposed services, and private Kubernetes access.

SaaS

Quickstart: automate and scale tunnels with Inlets Uplink

A practical guide for the multi-tenant Uplink model: namespaces, APIs, private services and controlled customer connectivity.

Security

Secure HTTP tunnels with OAuth

Protect demos, preview environments and internal tools with GitHub OAuth, basic auth, bearer tokens and IP allow lists.

Kubernetes

Expose ArgoCD on the Internet with Inlets and Istio

A concrete walkthrough for exposing private cluster services safely with Kubernetes-native tooling and real ingress patterns.

What customers are saying

Developers use inlets for previews, webhooks and local clusters. SaaS teams use it to reach private customer environments without another VPN project.

Flatfile

Robert Trencheny

"We're using inlets Pro to power our staging environments and give people preview build URLs. It's going great!"

Riskfuel

Addison van den Hoeven

"Riskfuel is using inlets to train machine learning models with millions of data points for clients over secure tunnels."

Cloodot

Haris

"We use inlets instead of Ngrok while developing with webhooks for our live chat product."

VSHN

Tobias Brunner

"Our customers' VPCs do not allow any incoming connections, so we use inlets to connect their OpenShift clusters to our product."

Banzai Cloud

Janos Matyas

"We can test our code locally without rebuilding and redeploying it for every change."

Sixgill

Jordan Gregory

"inlets Pro makes it easy for us to provide secure service and support of our Sense AI Platform deployed through cloud marketplaces."

Frequently asked questions

Short answers for the two most common paths: self-hosted tunnels with Pro, or multi-tenant customer connectivity with Uplink.

What is inlets Uplink?

A Kubernetes-native management layer for teams that need to connect private customer services or devices to their SaaS. It is built for multi-tenant operations, internal access patterns and automation.

Is there a free trial?

Inlets and Inlets Uplink are available on a monthly basis, with no commitment. Pay for 30 days, and if it does not click, you can walk away. Your subscription includes support via email.

What is the difference between inlets Pro and Uplink?

inlets Pro is self-hosted software for developers and smaller teams. Uplink is the managed control layer for SaaS and service providers that need repeatable customer connectivity.

Do I have to expose my applications on the Internet?

No. You can expose a service publicly, or bind privately so that only the control plane connects out. Uplink is specifically designed for private access patterns inside your own cluster.

How does inlets compare to Ngrok, WireGuard and Tailscale?

inlets focuses on exposing specific services, self-hosting the data plane, and avoiding SaaS tunnel limits. Read the full FAQ and comparison for the detailed trade-offs.

Is inlets open source?

inlets Pro has a commercial license. inlets-operator and inletsctl are MIT licensed.

Does inlets Pro call home?

The stand-alone version does not include a call-home mechanism. Uplink reports tunnel totals so teams can manage shared infrastructure.

Where can I run it?

inlets works anywhere the client can make an outbound connection first, including NAT, CGNAT, VPCs, containers, Kubernetes and restrictive WiFi networks.

Get Started

Choose the tunnel product that matches your use case.

inlets Pro: Self-hosted tunnels for development and internal infrastructure
Inlets Cloud: Managed tunnels with instant HTTPS and SSH, included with your subscription
Uplink: Customer connectivity for SaaS and service providers using a Kubernetes control plane

View pricing Compare all plans Contact us Talk to our engineers

A public HTTPS endpoint in seconds, no rate limits. Self-hosted tunnels with full control and privacy.

Pick the path that fits your use case.

inlets Pro

Inlets Cloud

Inlets Uplink

A private, self-hosted alternative to SaaS tunnels.

Self-hosted and private

You own your data

No AI training on your data

No rate limits or metering

Raw TCP, not just HTTP

Automate everything

How it works

Self-host HTTPS for a local app

Expose multiple TCP ports without SaaS tunnel limits

Expose a local Kubernetes service

Get a managed HTTPS tunnel

Manage a customer's Kubernetes cluster centrally

Which inlets is right for you?

inlets Pro

Inlets Cloud

Inlets Uplink

Key use cases

What customers are saying

Frequently asked questions

Choose the tunnel product that matches your use case.

Self-hosted tunnels with full control and privacy.