folderex

Share any local folder via a public HTTPS URL with basic auth protection.

Launches a local file browser server and exposes it through a tunnel provider (Cloudflare, Loophole, zrok, Expose.sh, srv.us or Packetriot), giving you an instant public HTTPS URL. No infrastructure needed.

Install

npm install -g folderex

Quick start

# One-time setup
folderex config set user admin
folderex config set pass secret123

# Share a folder
folderex ./dist

Usage

folderex <folder> [options]

Examples

# Share the current directory
folderex . -u admin -p secret123

# Share with loophole (custom subdomain)
folderex ./dist -r loophole -s mioprogetto

# Share with zrok (custom subdomain)
folderex ./dist -r zrok -s myname

# Share with expose.sh (uses GitHub SSH key)
folderex ./dist -r expose -s MyGithubUser --sshkey id_personal

# Use config defaults (no flags needed after setup)
folderex ./build

# Override a single setting
folderex ./dist -r loophole

# Local only (no public tunnel)
folderex ./build --no-tunnel

# Use a specific port
folderex ./output --port 8080

Output

  folderex
  Sharing:  /home/user/project/dist
  Provider: cloudflare

  * Local server:  http://localhost:43821
  * Public URL:    https://abc-xyz-123.trycloudflare.com

  Auth: admin / *********
  Press Ctrl+C to stop

Share the public URL with your team. They will be prompted for username and password.

Options

| Option | Description | |--------|-------------| | <folder> | Folder to share (default: .) | | -u, --user <name> | Username for basic auth | | -p, --pass <secret> | Password for basic auth | | -r, --provider <name> | Tunnel provider: cloudflare, loophole, zrok, expose, packetriot, or srvus | | -s, --subdomain <name> | Custom subdomain (loophole/zrok) or GitHub username (expose/srvus) | | --sshkey <path> | SSH private key for expose.sh / srv.us (name or full path) | | --port <n> | Local port (default: random) | | --no-tunnel | Local server only, no public URL | | -V, --version | Show version | | -h, --help | Show help |

All options fall back to saved config values when not specified.

Configuration

Settings are stored in ~/.folderex/conf/config.json.

# Save defaults
folderex config set user admin
folderex config set pass secret123
folderex config set provider loophole
folderex config set subdomain mioprogetto
folderex config set sshkey id_personal

# Read a value
folderex config get user

# List all values
folderex config list

# Delete a value
folderex config delete subdomain

Valid keys

| Key | Values | Description | |-----|--------|-------------| | user | any string | Default username for basic auth | | pass | any string | Default password for basic auth | | provider | cloudflare, loophole, zrok, expose, packetriot, srvus | Default tunnel provider | | subdomain | any string | Custom subdomain (loophole/zrok) or GitHub username (expose/srvus) | | sshkey | any string | SSH key name or path for expose.sh / srv.us |

CLI flags always override saved config values.

Tunnel providers

Cloudflare (default)

• Uses Cloudflare Quick Tunnels via cloudflared
• Binary is downloaded automatically and cached in ~/.folderex/bin/
• URL is random (e.g. https://abc-xyz.trycloudflare.com)
• No account required

Loophole

• Uses loophole.cloud tunnels
• Binary is downloaded automatically and cached in ~/.folderex/bin/
• Supports custom subdomains on free tier: https://yourname.loophole.site
• Requires a free account (one-time login)

# First time: login (opens browser)
~/.folderex/bin/loophole account login

# Random subdomain
folderex ./dist -r loophole

# Custom subdomain
folderex ./dist -r loophole -s mioprogetto
# -> https://mioprogetto.loophole.site

zrok

• Uses zrok tunnels
• Binary is downloaded automatically and cached in ~/.folderex/bin/
• Supports custom subdomains: https://yourname.share.zrok.io
• Requires a free account (one-time enable)

# First time: enable your account
~/.folderex/bin/zrok2 enable <your-token>

# Custom subdomain
folderex ./dist -r zrok -s myname

Expose.sh

• Uses expose.sh tunnels via SSH
• No binary to install — uses your system SSH client
• URL based on GitHub username: https://yourusername.expos.es
• Requires SSH keys on GitHub + starring the EXPOSE repo

# Setup
folderex config set provider expose
folderex config set subdomain YourGithubUser
folderex config set sshkey id_personal

# Share
folderex ./dist
# -> https://yourgithubuser.expos.es

Packetriot

• Uses packetriot.com tunnels
• Binary is downloaded automatically and cached in ~/.folderex/bin/
• Persistent hostname assigned at signup: https://yourname.pktriot.xyz
• Requires a free account (one-time configure)

# First time: configure (email + password)
~/.folderex/bin/pktriot configure

# Share
folderex ./dist -r packetriot

srv.us

• Uses srv.us tunnels via SSH
• No binary to install, no account needed — uses your system SSH client
• URL derived from your SSH key; if the key is on GitHub you also get: https://yourusername.gh.srv.us

# Setup
folderex config set provider srvus
folderex config set subdomain YourGithubUser
folderex config set sshkey id_personal

# Share
folderex ./dist
# -> https://yourgithubuser.gh.srv.us

How it works

1. Starts a local Express server with basic auth and a file browser UI
2. Downloads the tunnel binary if needed (cached in ~/.folderex/bin/), or uses SSH for expose.sh / srv.us
3. Opens a tunnel to expose the local server on a public HTTPS URL
4. Prints the URL, ready to share

The URL stays stable for the entire session. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Features

• File browser with upload and delete
• Dark/light theme toggle
• Shared clipboard via WebSocket
• Real-time file change notifications

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18
• Internet connection (for the tunnel)
• Free account for loophole/zrok/packetriot providers
• GitHub SSH keys for expose.sh / srv.us provider
• Github star for expose.sh provider

License

MIT