A personal Link tunnel routes your cloud test runs through your own computer, so that a test running in the mabl cloud can reach a development build on your machine or a service only your computer can reach. It's private to you. Nobody else's runs go through it, and you don't need a shared Link Agent or a tunnel name to use it.
Use a personal tunnel to run cloud tests against local changes before they are deployed, with the full results and diagnostics of a cloud run. Personal tunnels are available with Link 3.0.
Before you start
- A workspace owner must turn on Allow personal Link tunnels in Settings > Networking > Link tunnel access. See Controlling access to Link tunnels.
- Your computer must run a supported operating system.
- Your computer must be able to reach
api.mabl.comand one of the Link tunnel endpoints. See Link Agent requirements.
Start a personal tunnel
Start a personal tunnel from the mabl Desktop App or the mabl CLI.
From the mabl Desktop App
- Sign in to the mabl Desktop App.
- In the mabl app menu bar, go to Edit > Link tunnels
- In the Personal tunnels tab, next to Personal tunnel, click ON.
When the status under the switch shows On, the tunnel is ready. The Agent details below it show that your computer's agent is connected, along with its host health and connection quality over time. To stop the tunnel, click OFF. The tunnel also stops when you sign out of the Desktop App.
From the mabl CLI
Sign in with your own mabl account, then start the tunnel:
mabl auth login
mabl link-agents start --personal
A personal tunnel needs a signed-in user, because it belongs to you. An API key can't start one. The tunnel runs until you press Ctrl-C, which lets in-flight connections finish before it stops. See Running a Link Agent with the mabl CLI for more options.
How your tunnels are named
A personal tunnel is identified by your computer rather than by a name you choose. If you start personal tunnels on more than one computer, each one is a separate tunnel, and mabl lists them by computer when you start a run.
Run tests through your computer
When you have at least one personal tunnel running, you can route test traffic for manually triggered runs through your computer:
- For test runs, turn on Route test traffic through my computer in the ad hoc run panel.
- For plan runs, open the dropdown next to Run, select Configure plan run, and turn on Route test traffic through my computer before triggering the run.
If you have personal tunnels on more than one computer, the option reads Route test traffic through my computers and presents a list. You can choose one computer or All my machines, which spreads the run's traffic across every personal tunnel you have running. The computer you are using is marked (this computer).
If none of your personal tunnels can be used when the run starts, for example because the tunnel stopped, the run continues over the environment's usual path rather than failing.
When a run goes through your personal tunnels, it uses only them. The environment's own Link tunnels aren't used for that run, so every request the test makes is resolved and sent from your computer.
For ad hoc testing only
Personal tunnels are meant for runs you start yourself while you develop and test. For deployment events and CI/CD pipelines, use a workspace or company tunnel served by an always-on Link Agent.
Testing a service on your computer
With a personal tunnel, a cloud test can reach localhost on your computer. Point the test at the local URL, such as http://localhost:3000, and route the run through your computer. See Testing localhost with mabl Link for browser-specific details.