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The rustunnel Claude Code tunnel plugin gives Claude Code full tunnel management without manual MCP configuration. Install the plugin, enter your token, and start asking Claude to expose local services. The plugin is a thin wrapper over the same MCP server any other MCP-compatible agent (Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop, OpenClaw) can use.

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How it works

The plugin bundles a skill definition (agent instructions) and an MCP server configuration. When you enable it, Claude Code:
  1. Prompts for your server address and API token (stored securely, entered once)
  2. Starts the rustunnel-mcp MCP server in the background
  3. Makes 6 tunnel management tools available to the agent

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Installation

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From the plugin marketplace

/plugin install rustunnel

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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/
To load it permanently, add it to your Claude Code settings: 
claude plugin install --path rustunnel/plugins/claude-code/
During development, use /reload-plugins inside Claude Code to pick up file changes without restarting.

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Setup

When you enable the plugin, you’ll be prompted for three values:
PromptHosted exampleSelf-hosted example
Server addresseu.edge.rustunnel.com:4040localhost:4040
API URLhttps://eu.edge.rustunnel.com:8443http://localhost:4041
API tokenrt_live_abc123...your admin token
Get a token at rustunnel.com (hosted) or generate one with openssl rand -hex 32 for self-hosted servers.
These values are persisted by Claude Code — you won’t be asked again until you reconfigure.

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Reconfiguring

To change your configuration after installation: 
/plugin configure rustunnel
Run /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.

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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

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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.”

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Available tools

ToolAuthDescription
create_tunnelyesOpen a tunnel and get a public URL
close_tunnelyesClose a tunnel by UUID
list_tunnelsyesList all active tunnels
list_regionsnoShow available server regions
get_tunnel_historyyesView past tunnel activity
get_connection_infoyesGet the CLI command string (cloud sandbox fallback)
See the MCP Server guide for full parameter tables and example responses.

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Plugin vs manual MCP setup

AspectPluginManual .mcp.json
Setup/plugin install rustunnelEdit config by hand
Token storageSecure, entered onceHardcoded or passed every call
Updates/plugin update rustunnelManual
Agent guidanceBuilt-in skillMust add instructions yourself

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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.

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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

MCP server

Full reference for the rustunnel-mcp server the plugin wraps, including all tool parameters.

Agent integration

Wire rustunnel into Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Codex, and other MCP clients.

Self-hosting

Stand up your own rustunnel server to use with the plugin.

rustunnel + Claude Code

Quick-start version of this page with install one-liners and an agent-ready prompt.