node-tunnel

node-tunnel

HTTP tunneling proxy library.

Installation

Install node-tunnel by running:

$ npm install node-tunnel

Documentation

• Tunnel
  • .connect(port, host, client, req)
  • .use( function(req, cltSocket, head, next) )
  • .listen(port)
• basicAuth(req, cltSocket, head, next)

Tunnel

Tunnel.connect(port, host, client, req)

Function that creates a connection between the tunnel and the target server. It defaults to Promise.method(net.connect) which returns Promise<net.Socket>.

Kind: method of Tunnel
Summary: Establish the upstream connection.
Access: public

Example

// Create a tunnel with a custom connect method
tunnel = new Tunnel();
tunnel.connect = (port, host, client, req) => {
  console.log(`Establishing tunnel to ${host}:${port}...`);
  return Promise.method(net.connect);
};

Tunnel.use( function(req, cltSocket, head, next) )

Use a middleware function for rewriting request destination (by changing req.url), add authorization or filter connections to only certain hosts and ports.

The parameters are the same as the http module passes on "connect" event, plus a callback function similar to express middleware.

Keep in mind that express middleware do not work with in conjunction with this module.

Kind: method of Tunnel
Summary: Use a middleware.
Access: public

Example

// Start a tunneling proxy on port 3128
tunnel = new Tunnel();
tunnel.use( function(req, cltSocket, head, next) {
	// Send all connections to port 80 of localhost.
	req.url = "http://localhost:80";
	next();
} );
tunnel.listen(3128)

Tunnel.listen(port, [cb])

Start listening on the given port. An optional callback function is called when tunnel is ready to listen.

Kind: method of Tunnel
Summary: Start listening.
Access: public
Example

tunnel = new Tunnel();
tunnel.listen(3128, function() {
	console.log("Tunnel listening on port 3128");
});

basicAuth(req, cltSocket, head, next)

Parses Proxy-Authorization header and sets req.auth.username and req.auth.password properties.

Further middleware should be added to accept or reject connections based on this authentication information. Kind: method of Tunnel Summary: Parse Proxy-Authorization header. Access: public
Example

tunnel = new Tunnel();
tunnel.use(basicAuth);
tunnel.use( function(req, cltSocket, head, next) {
	if (req.auth.username != "user" || req.auth.password != "password") {
		cltSocket.end() // close connection
		return; // no further middleware need to be called
	}
	next();
} );
tunnel.listen(3128, function() {
	console.log("Tunnel listening on port 3128");
});

Support

If you're having any problem, please raise an issue on GitHub and the Balena team will be happy to help.

Tests

Run the test suite by doing:

$ npm install && npm test

Contribute

• Issue Tracker: github.com/balena-io-modules/node-tunnel/issues
• Source Code: github.com/balena-io-modules/node-tunnel

Before submitting a PR, please make sure that you include tests, and that coffeelint runs without any warning:

License

The project is licensed under the MIT license.

Changelog

4.0.8 - 2025-04-10

• Update npm to v11 [balena-renovate[bot]]