Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://rustunnel.com/docs/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
The rustunnel Claude Code plugin gives AI agents full tunnel management without manual MCP configuration. Install the plugin, enter your token, and start asking Claude to expose local services.
How it works
The plugin bundles a skill definition (agent instructions) and an MCP server configuration. When you enable it, Claude Code:
- Prompts for your server address and API token (stored securely, entered once)
- Starts the
rustunnel-mcp MCP server in the background
- Makes 6 tunnel management tools available to the agent
Installation
From the plugin marketplace
/plugin install rustunnel
Manual install from source
Clone the repository and point Claude Code at the plugin directory:
git clone https://github.com/joaoh82/rustunnel.git
claude --plugin-dir rustunnel/plugins/claude-code/
claude plugin install --path rustunnel/plugins/claude-code/
/reload-plugins inside Claude Code to pick up file changes without restarting.
Setup
When you enable the plugin, you’ll be prompted for three values:
| Prompt | Hosted example | Self-hosted example |
|---|
| Server address | eu.edge.rustunnel.com:4040 | localhost:4040 |
| API URL | https://eu.edge.rustunnel.com:8443 | http://localhost:4041 |
| API token | rt_live_abc123... | your admin token |
Get a token at
rustunnel.com (hosted) or generate one with
openssl rand -hex 32 for self-hosted servers.
Reconfiguring
To change your configuration after installation:
/plugin configure rustunnel
/reload-plugins after reconfiguring for changes to take effect.
The MCP server will not start until all three values are set. If you see a “Missing required user configuration value” error, run /plugin configure rustunnel to provide the missing values.
Prerequisites
The rustunnel CLI must be installed on your machine. The MCP server spawns it as a subprocess when create_tunnel is called.
# Homebrew (macOS/Linux)
brew tap joaoh82/rustunnel
brew install rustunnel
# Or download from GitHub releases
# https://github.com/joaoh82/rustunnel/releases/latest
Usage
Once installed, just ask Claude:
“Expose my local server on port 3000.”
“Open an HTTP tunnel to port 8080 with subdomain myapp.”
“Create a TCP tunnel to my PostgreSQL on port 5432.”
“List my active tunnels and close the one on port 3000.”
| Tool | Auth | Description |
|---|
create_tunnel | yes | Open a tunnel and get a public URL |
close_tunnel | yes | Close a tunnel by UUID |
list_tunnels | yes | List all active tunnels |
list_regions | no | Show available server regions |
get_tunnel_history | yes | View past tunnel activity |
get_connection_info | yes | Get the CLI command string (cloud sandbox fallback) |
Plugin vs manual MCP setup
| Aspect | Plugin | Manual .mcp.json |
|---|
| Setup | /plugin install rustunnel | Edit config by hand |
| Token storage | Secure, entered once | Hardcoded or passed every call |
| Updates | /plugin update rustunnel | Manual |
| Agent guidance | Built-in skill | Must add instructions yourself |
Self-hosted servers
The plugin works with self-hosted rustunnel instances. When prompted for the server address and API URL, enter your own server’s values instead of the hosted defaults. See the Self-Hosting guide for server setup.
Security
- The API token is stored securely by Claude Code (
sensitive: true)
- Tokens are transmitted over HTTPS to the rustunnel server
- Tunnel subprocesses are cleaned up when the MCP server exits
- Use
--insecure only in local development with self-signed certificates
