Self-hosted HTTP tunnels with SSH and Nginx

This article shows how to build a self-hosted HTTP tunneling solution using only OpenSSH and Nginx, providing a lower-cost and more controllable alternative to commercial tools like ngrok. For IT organizations, the strategic value is greater governance over exposure of internal services, tighter alignment with existing infrastructure, and reduced dependency on third-party tunnel providers, though it also shifts operational responsibility for security, DNS, certificates, and access control onto the team. The design demonstrates that ephemeral, shareable previews for local apps can be delivered from standard building blocks, which is attractive for development workflows but requires careful hardening to avoid turning temporary access into an unintended public entry point.