Cloudflared is a command-line tool developed by Cloudflare that acts as a lightweight tunneling agent, enabling secure and seamless connections between your local applications and Cloudflare's global network. It primarily facilitates the creation of secure tunnels for services that are not directly exposed to the internet, thereby enhancing the security posture of the applications and shielding them from potential attacks. With Cloudflared, users can easily route traffic from the Cloudflare network to their self-hosted services, ensuring that data travels securely through encrypted connections.
The tool is integral to Cloudflare's Tunnel service, which allows developers to expose their local apps to the internet without configuring firewalls or opening ports. Users simply run the Cloudflared daemon to establish a tunnel, and they can utilize a subdomain from Cloudflare’s domain or their own custom domain for access. This solution is particularly beneficial for those looking to deploy services privately while still providing public accessibility, fostering both flexibility and security in application hosting.