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conduit/README.md
Evan Reichard 2aee0765aa
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docs: update README and AGENTS.md to reflect http.Server refactor
- Replace "Raw TCP listener" references with http.Server/hijack model
- Update architecture diagram and description
- Add testing section to AGENTS.md with test summary
- Update key patterns to match current code
- Fix file locations table (add e2e_test.go, reconstructed_conn.go)
2026-05-03 22:43:06 -04:00

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# Conduit
A lightweight tunneling service that exposes local services to the internet through a public server — similar to ngrok, but self-hosted.
Deploy Conduit on a public server (e.g., `https://conduit.example.com`), then create tunnels from your local machine. Point a tunnel at a local endpoint (e.g., `localhost:8000`) and it becomes accessible at a subdomain like `https://black-fox-123.conduit.example.com`.
![Example](https://gitea.va.reichard.io/evan/conduit/raw/branch/main/assets/example.gif)
## Features
- **HTTP & TCP tunneling** — automatically detected based on the target scheme
- **Subdomain routing** — each tunnel gets a unique subdomain on the server
- **Auto-generated tunnel names** — random `color-animal-number` names when none is provided
- **Local tunnel monitor** — web UI on `:8181` with SSE-based live request/response inspection
- **API key authentication** — simple shared-key auth between client and server
- **Minimal footprint** — single binary, no external dependencies
## Architecture
```
┌──────────────┐ WebSocket ┌──────────────────┐
│ conduit │◄──────────────────────────► │ conduit │
│ tunnel │ (control + streams) │ serve │
│ (client) │ │ (public server) │
├──────────────┤ ├──────────────────┤
│ HTTP Fwd or │ │ http.Server │
│ TCP Fwd │ │ Subdomain router │
├──────────────┤ │ WS upgrade │
│ Tunnel │ └──────────────────┘
│ Monitor :8181│
└──────────────┘
```
The server uses `net/http.Server` to accept connections and inspects the HTTP `Host` header for routing. Requests to the base domain hit the control API; requests to subdomains are hijacked and forwarded over WebSocket to the matching tunnel client. The client then forwards traffic to the local target via either a reverse-proxy (HTTP) or direct TCP dial.
## Quick Start
### Prerequisites
- Go 1.25+ (or Docker)
### Build
```bash
# Local build (all platforms)
make build_local
# Docker
make docker_build_local
```
### Server
Run the server on a publicly accessible host:
```bash
conduit serve \
--server https://conduit.example.com \
--bind 0.0.0.0:8080 \
--api_key your-secret-key
```
Or with Docker:
```bash
docker run -p 8080:8080 \
-e CONDUIT_SERVER=https://conduit.example.com \
-e CONDUIT_API_KEY=your-secret-key \
conduit:latest
```
### Client
Create a tunnel to expose a local service:
```bash
# HTTP tunnel (auto-generates name)
conduit tunnel \
--server https://conduit.example.com \
--api_key your-secret-key \
--target http://localhost:8000
# Named TCP tunnel
conduit tunnel \
--server https://conduit.example.com \
--api_key your-secret-key \
--name my-service \
--target localhost:5432
```
The local tunnel monitor is available at `http://localhost:8181` for HTTP tunnels.
## Configuration
All options can be set via CLI flags or environment variables (`CONDUIT_` prefix):
### Server (`conduit serve`)
| Flag | Env Var | Default | Description |
|------|---------|---------|-------------|
| `--server` | `CONDUIT_SERVER` | `http://localhost:8080` | Public server address |
| `--api_key` | `CONDUIT_API_KEY` | — | API key (required) |
| `--bind` | `CONDUIT_BIND` | `0.0.0.0:8080` | Listen address |
| `--log_level` | `CONDUIT_LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Log level |
| `--log_format` | `CONDUIT_LOG_FORMAT` | `text` | Log format (`text` or `json`) |
### Client (`conduit tunnel`)
| Flag | Env Var | Default | Description |
|------|---------|---------|-------------|
| `--server` | `CONDUIT_SERVER` | `http://localhost:8080` | Conduit server address |
| `--api_key` | `CONDUIT_API_KEY` | — | API key (required) |
| `--name` | `CONDUIT_NAME` | (auto-generated) | Tunnel subdomain name |
| `--target` | `CONDUIT_TARGET` | — | Local target address (required) |
| `--log_level` | `CONDUIT_LOG_LEVEL` | `info` | Log level |
| `--log_format` | `CONDUIT_LOG_FORMAT` | `text` | Log format (`text` or `json`) |
## Server API
| Endpoint | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| `/_conduit/tunnel?tunnelName=<name>&apiKey=<key>` | WebSocket tunnel registration |
| `/_conduit/info?apiKey=<key>` | JSON list of active tunnels |
## Project Structure
```
├── cmd/ # Cobra CLI commands (root, serve, tunnel)
├── config/ # Configuration parsing & logging setup
├── server/ # HTTP server, subdomain routing, hijack + WebSocket upgrade
├── tunnel/ # Tunnel, Stream, and Forwarder abstractions
├── store/ # In-memory request/response recording for the monitor
├── web/ # Local tunnel monitor HTTP server & SSE streaming
├── types/ # Shared message types
├── pkg/maps/ # Generic concurrent map
├── build/ # Compiled binaries (gitignored in practice)
├── Dockerfile # Single-stage Docker build
└── Makefile # Build & release targets
```
## License
See repository for license details.