How to setup Cloudflare tunnel for home server with domain name

Rahul Das
08/03/2025

This is a guide to setup Cloudflare tunnel for home server with domain name

You can use Cloudflare Tunnel to expose your home server without opening router ports. Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: Install Cloudflare Tunnel (cloudflared)

SSH into your Ubuntu server and run:

sudo apt update

wget https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-amd64.deb

sudo dpkg -i cloudflared-linux-amd64.deb

Check if it's installed correctly:

cloudflared --version

Step 2: Authenticate Cloudflare Tunnel

Run the command to log in:

cloudflared tunnel login
  • This will open a browser and ask you to select your domain (rahulcodepython.tech).
  • Approve the request and get back to the terminal.
Authenticate Cloudflare Tunnel | Alternative Way

Since you're using Ubuntu Server OS without a browser, you can still authenticate Cloudflare Tunnel using a different device (like your personal laptop or phone). Here's how:

Step 1: Start Cloudflare Tunnel Authentication

On your Ubuntu Server, run:

cloudflared tunnel login

This will output a URL like:

Please open the following URL and log in with your Cloudflare account:
https://dash.cloudflare.com/argotunnel?some-auth-link
Step 2: Authenticate Using Another Device
  1. Copy the URL from the terminal.
  2. Open the URL on your personal computer, phone, or another device with a browser.
  3. Log in to Cloudflare and approve the authentication.
  4. Once approved, Cloudflare will generate a certificate and download it automatically on your server.
Step 3: Verify Authentication

Once the authentication is done, your terminal should confirm success.

To check if the credentials were saved correctly, run:

ls ~/.cloudflared/

You should see a .json credentials file inside.

Now, you can continue setting up the tunnel as per the previous steps. 🚀

Step 3: Create a Cloudflare Tunnel

Create a named tunnel:

cloudflared tunnel create my-home-server

This will generate a UUID (a unique ID for your tunnel).

Step 4: Configure Cloudflare Tunnel

Navigate to the .cloudflared directory:

cd /etc/cloudflared

Edit or create a config file:

nano config.yml

Add the following content:

tunnel: YOUR_UUID_HERE # Replace with the UUID from Step 3
credentials-file: ~/.cloudflared/YOUR_UUID_HERE.json # Path to credentials file

ingress:
    - hostname: rahulcodepython.tech
      service: http://localhost:80 # Change this if your web server runs on a different port
    - service: http_status:404 # Catch-all rule

You have to change:

  • Tunnel UUID
  • Credentials file path
  • Port Number

Save the file and exit.

Step 5: Start Cloudflare Tunnel

Now start your tunnel:

nohup cloudflared tunnel run my-home-server > /dev/null 2>&1 &

🛑 Stop A Connector

1️⃣ First, list running cloudflared processes:

ps aux | grep cloudflared
  • This will show the Process IDs (PIDs) of running instances.

2️⃣ Kill the extra process using its PID (replace <PID> with the actual number):

sudo kill <PID>

OR, if multiple processes exist:

sudo killall cloudflared # Kill all cloudflared connector
cloudflared tunnel run my-home-server # Restart a new tunnel connector

Step 6: Set Up a Simple Web Server

Create a simple HTML file:

mkdir -p /var/www/html
nano /var/www/html/index.html

Add this content:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
    <head>
        <meta charset="UTF-8" />
        <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
        <title>Welcome to Rahul's Server</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Hello, Cloudflare Tunnel is working!</h1>
    </body>
</html>

Save the file.

Now install a lightweight web server:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y

Make sure the server is running:

sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Check if it's working locally:

curl http://localhost

Step 7: Connect Cloudflare Tunnel to Your Domain

Delete Existing A Records

In the Cloudflare DNS Records Settings:

  1. Find the following records and delete them all:
    • A * → 75.2.103.23
    • A rahulcodepython.tech → 75.2.103.23
    • A www → 75.2.103.23

📌 Why delete them?
Cloudflare Tunnel does not rely on an A record (IP address) but instead uses a CNAME record pointing to the Cloudflare network.

Find Your Tunnel UUID

When you created the tunnel earlier, you received a Tunnel UUID (a long alphanumeric string). If you forgot it, you can list your tunnels using:

cloudflared tunnel list

This will output something like:

ID                                   NAME             CREATED       CONNECTIONS
xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx my-home-server  2024-03-02    2x yyz -> MIA

The ID (UUID) is important, and we’ll use it in the next step.

Connect tunnel with domain name
  1. Go to Cloudflare Dashboard → Your Domain (rahulcodepython.tech)
  2. DNS Settings → Add a CNAME record:
    • Name: @
    • Target: YOUR_TUNNEL_ID.cfargotunnel.com
    • Proxy Status: ✅ (Keep it proxied)

Step 8: Run Cloudflare Tunnel as a Service

If you want the tunnel to automatically start on reboot, create a systemd service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/cloudflared.service

Paste the following:

[Unit]
Description=Cloudflare Tunnel
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
ExecStart=/usr/bin/cloudflared tunnel run my-home-server
Restart=always
User=root

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Save and exit.

Create a folder and move the config.yml file to there:

sudo mkdir -p /root/.cloudflared # Creating the directory
sudo cp /etc/cloudflared/config.yml /root/.cloudflared/config.yml # Moving the file to there

Then, enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl restart cloudflared # Restart the service
sudo systemctl status cloudflared # Check the status of the service
sudo systemctl enable cloudflared # Enable it for start automatically after boot
sudo systemctl start cloudflared # Start the service (not required if it is already active, check before use it)

Step 9: Verify Your Website

Now open your domain in a browser:

https://rahulcodepython.tech

You should see your HTML page!

Steps to add new services

- Step 1: Add the hostname and servie to the confi.yml file.

Open the config.yml

sudo nano /root/.cloudflared/config.yml

Add new services

    - hostname: rahulcodepython.tech
      service: http://localhost:80  # Change this if your web server runs on a different port

- Step 2: Restart the cloudflared service.

sudo systemctl restart cloudflared

Here are some useful cloudflared commands:

🚀 Basic Commands
cloudflared --version       # Check installed version
cloudflared tunnel login    # Authenticate with Cloudflare
cloudflared tunnel create my-home-server  # Create a new tunnel
cloudflared tunnel list     # List all created tunnels
cloudflared tunnel delete my-home-server  # Delete a tunnel
🚀 Running the Tunnel
cloudflared tunnel run my-home-server  # Start a specific tunnel with logs
nohup cloudflared tunnel run my-home-server > /dev/null 2>&1 & # Start a specific tunnel without logs and run in background (recomended)
cloudflared tunnel ingress validate       # Validate the config file
🚀 Configuration & Management
cloudflared tunnel route ip add 192.168.1.100/32 my-home-server  # Route traffic
cloudflared tunnel route ip show  # Show configured routes
cloudflared tunnel cleanup         # Remove old tunnels
🚀Check Tunnel Status (Highlighted)
cloudflared tunnel info my-home-server  # Show status and info of a tunnel

🚀 Hurrah! Tunnel setup is done.

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