Your localhost is now on your phone — effortlessly.

PhoneHost is a simple CLI tool that lets developers preview their local development websites (like localhost:3000) directly on their mobile phone. No need for USB debugging, emulators, or clunky setups — just scan a QR code and see your site live on your phone, instantly.

Responsive web development often requires testing on real mobile devices — not just Chrome DevTools. But setting up a way to preview your localhost on your phone can be annoying. PhoneHost eliminates that pain with one simple CLI command.

Whether you're building with:

• Next.js
• Vite
• React
• Vue
• Svelte -- ...or anything that runs on localhost

PhoneHost is compatible with a wide range of development tools and frameworks. Here are some officially supported and tested environments:

• ✅ Next.js
• ✅ Vite (requires --host flag)
• ✅ React (CRA)
• ✅ Vue (Vue CLI and Vite-based)
• ✅ Svelte and SvelteKit
• ✅ Angular
• ✅ Astro
• ✅ Any tool that runs a local server on a specific port

💡 Make sure to run your dev server with a publicly accessible host when necessary (e.g. vite --host) so PhoneHost can detect and forward traffic correctly. (Note that you may not need this starting with v.1.0.3).

This tool helps you test on real hardware in seconds.

• 🔍 Detects your machine’s local IP automatically
• 📱 Generates a QR code you can scan with your phone
• ⚠️ Warns you if the port isn't running anything
• 🌐 Remote tunneling for public or restricted Wi-Fi
• 📦 Lightweight, zero config, runs instantly

Install it globally via NPM:

npm install -g phonehost

Or use it directly via npx:

npx phonehost --port 3000

Make sure your local dev server is running (like npm run dev for Next.js) on the port you want (e.g. 3000), then:

phonehost --port 3000

or

phonehost -p 3000

Note: If you don't specify the port it will search for an active port from theses : [3000, 5173, 8080, 4321, 4200].

You’ll get output like:

📱 Scan this on your phone to preview:
🔗 http://192.168.1.42:3000
[QR CODE]

Open your phone’s camera or a QR app — and you’ll instantly see your site on your mobile browser over your local Wi-Fi.

If your phone is not on the same Wi-Fi or you're on public or restricted networks, you can use PhoneHost's built-in tunneling feature to create a public link using localtunnel.

This option works out-of-the-box — no additional installation required.

phonehost --port 3000 --tunnel

or

phonehost -p 3000 -t

You’ll get a public link like:

🔗 https://your-link.loca.lt

⚠️ Note: On some networks, loca.lt may ask for your public IP as a password to access the link. This is a security feature from the service. The Password will be displated in your Terminal.

By default, PhoneHost uses localtunnel for public access — but this may require entering your public IP as a password when accessing the link from your phone.

To avoid this prompt, you can switch to Cloudflare Tunnel, which provides a clean and password-free experience.

1. Install cloudflared (only once):

npm install -g cloudflared

Or download manually from: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/connections/connect-apps/install-and-setup/installation

2. Use PhoneHost with Cloudflare:

phonehost -p 3000 -t --provider cloudflare

You’ll get a public URL like https://your-site.trycloudflare.com without any password screen.

💡 If cloudflared is not installed, the CLI will let you know and give you the install command.

Clone the project:

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/phonehost.git
cd phonehost
npm install

Run the CLI locally:

npm run start -- --port 3000

MIT © 2025 Adil Hussain