Expose a PocketBase backend through Pinggy
PocketBase is a single-binary backend that bundles a SQLite database, a REST and realtime API, file storage, and an admin dashboard. It is a popular choice for prototypes and small apps because the entire backend ships as one executable. The only friction comes when a frontend running on another device - a phone simulator, a teammate’s browser, an OAuth callback - needs to reach the PocketBase instance you started on 127.0.0.1:8090.
Pinggy’s HTTP tunnel forwards public HTTP/HTTPS traffic to that local port, so PocketBase becomes reachable without deploying it to a VPS first.
Step 1: Start PocketBase
Download the binary for your platform from the PocketBase site and launch it:
The default address is http://127.0.0.1:8090. Visit /_/ in a browser to set the admin credentials on first run.
Step 2: Open the tunnel
In a second terminal, run:
ssh -p 443 -R0:localhost:8090 free.pinggy.io
Pinggy emits an https://...a.pinggy.link URL. The admin UI is now reachable at <url>/_/ and the REST API at <url>/api/.
Step 3: Bind PocketBase to all interfaces (optional)
By default PocketBase listens on 127.0.0.1, which is fine when Pinggy and PocketBase run on the same host. If they run on different machines on your LAN, start PocketBase with an explicit bind:
./pocketbase serve --http=0.0.0.0:8090
Then point the tunnel at the LAN IP of the PocketBase host instead of localhost.
PocketBase’s realtime subscriptions ride over Server-Sent Events (SSE), which works through Pinggy’s HTTP tunnel without extra setup. If your frontend is hosted on a different origin, allow it in the admin dashboard under Settings → Application → CORS so browser fetches and EventSource connections succeed.
Step 5: Pin the URL for OAuth and webhooks
OAuth providers and webhook senders require a stable callback URL. A free Pinggy tunnel reissues a new hostname on every reconnect; sign in to the dashboard and configure a persistent subdomain or custom domain so the same URL keeps working across restarts.