Installing Ngrok on Windows

Introduction

Ngrok is a development tool that helps in getting the Public URLs for,

• testing mobile applications
• testing your chatbot
• testing SSH access to your Raspberry Pi
• Exposing your local webserver
• testing your webhooks and message extensions in MS Teams application development
• and much more.

You can know more about it from the URL https://www.ngrok.com. It offers a free version and paid version. In this article, we will focus on how we can set up ngrok on Windows 10 machine.

Steps to Install Ngrok

Step 1

Go to command prompt and check for ngrok, by typing the below command,

ngrok

This basically confirms that ngrok is not installed on your machine.

Step 2

Now go to www.ngrok.com and install the free version,

Step 3

It downloads by default to the ‘Downloads’ folder. I can open the file from the browser pop up. This is basically a zip file. Unzip this and place it in a folder.

Step 4

I have placed it Desktop - Softwares.

Step 5

Now set up the environment variables for this ngrok, so that you can run it just by simply typing ‘ngrok’ from any directory. For this search for 'Environment' in the windows search and select 'Edit the Environment Variables'. “Environment’ - “Edit the Environment Variable Settings”.

Step 6

Now click on the ‘Environment Variables” and look for ‘Path’ under the ‘System Variables’ section and click on ‘Edit’.

Note
You can either create variables under ‘user variables’ or ‘System Variables’. I am updating under system variables. If updated under user variables it will affect the user, whereas, in system variables, it will take effect for all the users.

Step 7

Click on ‘New’ and then add the path where you have stored ngrok. Make sure you close the path with \ which is important.

C:\Users\vmuser\Desktop\Softwares\ngrok-stable-windows-amd64

Step 8

Finally, check if you are able to run ngrok. Open the command prompt and enter the below command,

ngrok version 

It is displayed ngrok version 2.3.40. This confirms ngrok is properly installed on your machine and you can use this service for your modern app's testing.

Conclusion

Thus in this article, we have seen what ngrok service is and how to set up in your windows 10 machine.

References

• https://www.ngrok.com
• https://www.twilio.com/docs/usage/tutorials/how-use-ngrok-windows-and-visual-studio-test-webhooks