What is Zrok used for?

zrok is an open-source tool for sharing web services, files and network resources securely over the internet without firewall or port-forwarding changes. It is a good fit for exposing a local dev server to testers, sharing files securely with colleagues and remote access to home lab services.

Yes. Zrok is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openziti/zrok and is written mainly in Go.

Yes. Zrok is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

Can I self-host Zrok?

Yes. Zrok can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Zrok an alternative to?

Zrok is an open-source alternative to ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale and Cloudflare. Other open-source alternatives to ngrok include Pangolin, Octelium and frp.

Is Zrok actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Zrok was on 29 September 2026, and the latest release is v2.0.6, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 4.7k stars on GitHub.

Zrok: open-source alternative to ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel

About Zrok

zrok lets you share web services, files and network resources with other people, whether they are across the internet or on a private network. It is built on zero-trust networking, so it works through firewalls and NAT without port forwarding or other network changes, and it behaves like a secure reverse proxy and peer-to-peer sharing tool.

Getting started takes a few steps: install zrok, create an account with the invite command, using the free zrok.io service, and enable sharing on your machine. After that you can publish a local web app, share a folder or expose a private resource to selected users. The project is part of the OpenZiti ecosystem and written in Go.

zrok is licensed under Apache-2.0. You can use the hosted zrok.io service or run your own zrok instance, which suits developers who need to expose a local service temporarily, teams sharing files securely and homelab owners who want remote access without opening ports.

Key features

Share web services without port forwarding
File sharing over zero-trust networking
Works through firewalls and NAT
Public and private share modes
Free hosted zrok.io service
Self-hostable zrok server

Good fit for

→Exposing a local dev server to testers
→Sharing files securely with colleagues
→Remote access to home lab services

Built with: Go
Tags: zero-trust; tunneling; file-sharing; reverse-proxy; openziti; networking; golang; self-hosted

Zrok: questions and answers

What is Zrok used for?: zrok is an open-source tool for sharing web services, files and network resources securely over the internet without firewall or port-forwarding changes. It is a good fit for exposing a local dev server to testers, sharing files securely with colleagues and remote access to home lab services.
Is Zrok open source?: Yes. Zrok is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at openziti/zrok and is written mainly in Go.
Is Zrok free?: Yes. Zrok is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
Can I self-host Zrok?: Yes. Zrok can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Zrok an alternative to?: Zrok is an open-source alternative to ngrok, Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale and Cloudflare. Other open-source alternatives to ngrok include Pangolin, Octelium and frp.
Is Zrok actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Zrok was on 29 September 2026, and the latest release is v2.0.6, published on 29 September 2026. The project has 4.7k stars on GitHub.