# Access localhost from Remote Device

**Prerequisite**: Your website is currently on <code>http://localhost:8081/</code> with a tool like [**live-server**][1]


### a) Publish on *Same* Network

Within the same network, you can access your machine with your current ip address or hostname. You can find the ip address running `ipconfig | grep IPv4` or the hostname by sending a `ping -a` to that ip. 

<pre><code>http://192.128.1.18:80/
http://hostname:80/</code></pre>

**Note**: For best results, use port 80, connect on a private network, and check your firewall settings.

### b) Publish on *Any* Network *(easier)*

1. **Opt 1** - You can use [**ngrok**][2] to provide port forwarding over ngrok's public facing ports

 [Download ngrok][3] and run the following command:

 <pre><code>$ ./ngrok http 8081
 </code></pre>

 <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/rkYfE.png" width="450" />


2. **Opt 2** - You can use [**localhost.run**][4] to create a ssh tunnel with the following command:

 <pre><code>ssh -R 80:localhost:8081 kylemit@ssh.localhost.run
 </code></pre>

 <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/lAQ9N.png" width="450" />


----


# Access Remote Device from Local Dev Tools 


To connect your browser dev tools with a connected device, follow the instructions at [Get Started with Remote Debugging Android Devices][6]

 1. On your phone, enable Developer Options & USB Debugging
 2. Plug your phone into your computer via USB and set the protocol (not File / Media Transfer)
 3. Open Dev Tools > More Tools > Remote Debugging (try here if [Device Not Detected][7])

 <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/pJTw5.png" width="450" />

 4. Find your site and Click Inspect which will open up a new inspector window

 <img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/EtrqL.png" width="450" />

---

### Further Reading:

* [How do I connect to this localhost from another computer on the same network?][8]
* [Access to a site on localhost from remote][9]
* [How to debug web sites on mobile devices?][10]


 [1]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/live-server
 [2]: https://ngrok.com/
 [3]: https://ngrok.com/download
 [4]: http://localhost.run/
 [6]: https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools/remote-debugging/
 [7]: https://stackoverflow.com/q/21925992/1366033
 [8]: https://stackoverflow.com/q/9682262/1366033
 [9]: https://stackoverflow.com/q/11364406/1366033
 [10]: https://stackoverflow.com/q/5794984/1366033

I have just set up a wi-fi network at home. I have all my files on my desktop computer (192.168.1.56) and want to access localhost over there from another computer (192.168.1.2).

On my desktop I can access localhost through the normal http://localhost. Apache is running on port 80 as usual.

What do I have to do to achieve this? There is documentation on the net but they either don't work or are too fragmented and confusing to understand.

I think I have to make changes to my apache's httpd.conf file and the hosts file. Any ideas as to what changes to make?