Cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe

This article covers everything from download to advanced configuration. Cloudflared is the client that powers Cloudflare Tunnel (formerly Argo Tunnel). It establishes an encrypted connection between your origin server (your Windows PC) and Cloudflare’s edge. Traffic from the public internet hits Cloudflare, then travels through the tunnel to your local service.

net start cloudflared Or use the Services GUI ( services.msc ). The service automatically runs at boot. | Local Service | Example URL | Config service line | |------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------| | IIS (default website) | http://localhost:80 | service: http://localhost:80 | | Node.js dev server | http://localhost:3000 | service: http://localhost:3000 | | Jellyfin / Plex | http://localhost:8096 | service: http://localhost:8096 | | SMB / RDP (via Access) | tcp://localhost:3389 | service: tcp://localhost:3389 | | SSH | tcp://localhost:22 | service: tcp://localhost:22 | cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe

cloudflared.exe tunnel --url http://localhost:3000 Cloudflare gives you a random https://random-name.trycloudflare.com URL. This uses Cloudflare’s Quick Tunnels feature—no authentication, no config. “Access is denied” – Run Command Prompt or PowerShell as Administrator when installing the service or writing to Program Files . This article covers everything from download to advanced

cloudflared.exe tunnel create my-first-tunnel This creates a tunnel (with a UUID) and stores its credentials in .cloudflared . It also creates a tunnel configuration file template. Traffic from the public internet hits Cloudflare, then

cloudflared.exe service install This creates a service named “Cloudflare Tunnel Agent”. Start it:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-windows-amd64.exe" -OutFile "$env:USERPROFILE\Downloads\cloudflared.exe" Move it to a permanent location, e.g., C:\cloudflared\cloudflared.exe , and add that folder to your PATH for easy access. Cloudflared needs to authenticate with your Cloudflare account.

Now, route traffic to a local service. For example, if you run a web app on localhost:3000 :