Set up a Portal

Expose a local server with a BrowserPod portal URL

This guide shows how to listen on a port and expose it via a portal URL.

1. Register a Portal handler

Register a callback so you can capture the portal URL when it appears:

pod.onPortal(({ url, port }) => {
  console.log(`Portal URL: ${url} (local port ${port})`);
});

2. Start a server inside the pod

When your server listens on a port, BrowserPod will create a portal:

pod.run("node", ["server.js"], {
  echo: true,
  terminal,
  cwd: "/project",
});

In your server code:

server.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log("Server listening on port 3000");
});

3. Use the Portal URL

A common pattern is to display the URL and load it in an iframe:

const iframe = document.querySelector("#preview");
const urlDiv = document.querySelector("#url");

pod.onPortal(({ url }) => {
  urlDiv.innerHTML = `Portal available at <a href="${url}">${url}</a>`;
  iframe.src = url;
});

Notes

• The portal URL is the address your users should open.
• The port value is the internal port inside the pod that triggered the portal.
• If multiple servers listen on different ports, you will receive a callback for each portal.