Your outpost’s line to the internet
A browser tab cannot open raw network connections. So the Linux machine in your tab sends its connections to the 0cloud relay, which opens the real ones for it. Installs, git, SSH and APIs work as they do on any server.
Why a tab needs a relay
Your browser lets a web page fetch web pages, nothing more. A Linux machine needs more: TCP for git and SSH, UDP for DNS, ping to see if a host is up. The outpost carries each of those connections over one secure WebSocket to the relay, and the relay opens the real connection on the internet.
The machine itself still runs on your device. The relay only carries traffic; it never runs your code.
- TCP and UDP, DNS and ping
- One WebSocket over HTTPS, so it passes most firewalls
- Your code runs on your device, not on the relay
Encrypted end to end, walled off from private networks
HTTPS, SSH and git keep their own encryption from your outpost to the server, so the relay passes along bytes it cannot read. Each session gets its own private network, opened only with a secret key your tab makes up.
The relay reaches public internet addresses only. It refuses private ranges like 10.x and 192.168.x, cloud metadata addresses and its own servers, so a workspace can never be used to poke around inside our network or anyone else’s.
- HTTPS, SSH and git stay encrypted to the server
- A private network per session
- Private and metadata addresses refused
Free to use, faster on Pro
Without an account you get a small relay allowance. Sign in for free and the relay has no monthly cap at 10 Mbps. Pro raises it to 100 Mbps; Team gets priority. Pick a relay region in Settings, or leave it on Auto for the nearest one.
- No account: a small allowance
- Free: no monthly cap, 10 Mbps
- Pro: 100 Mbps
- Region: Auto or your pick
Machine
Auto sizes the machine from your device. Free gives each workspace 1 GB of memory, Pro up to 8 GB.
Running
Terminal
dev@shop-api:~/work/shop-api$ npm test
14 tests passed in 1.2 s
Network
Auto uses the nearest region.
What goes through the relay
Questions
Does my code run on the relay?
No. The machine runs in your tab on your device. The relay only carries its network connections.
Can the relay read my traffic?
Not what is encrypted: HTTPS, SSH and git stay encrypted from your outpost to the server. Plain HTTP is readable on the way, as on any network, so use HTTPS.
Does the preview of my dev server go through the relay?
No. The preview runs between the tab and the machine on your device. Sharing a preview by link with someone else is coming, and that will go through the relay.
Can I reach my home network or office LAN?
Not through the shared relay: it reaches public addresses only. Routing through a machine of your own is planned.
I need one fixed IP address to allow-list. Is there one?
Not on the shared relay, whose address can change. Add a private relay: a static IPv4 address of your own, $5 a month.