Support and FAQ

Using Showoff

Use showoff to share a development server running on a local port. If your development server uses virtual hosts (Apache, Pow, etc), don't forget to specify the virtual hostname.

Share a port

  1. You are running a single server on a local port.
  2. Use the 'show PORT' command to create a tunnel and public URL.
  3. Share the URL to show off your project.

This example assumes you're running a local server on port 3000:

> show 3000
Share this URL: http://xyz.showoff.io/

Share a Virtual Host

  1. You are running a development server with virtual hosts.
  2. Use the 'show VIRTUAL-HOST' command to create a tunnel and public URL.
  3. Share the URL to show off your project.

This example assumes you're running a server on port 80 and one of your virtual hosts is called 'mysite.dev':

> show mysite.dev
Share this URL: http://abc.showoff.io/

HTTP Basic Auth

  1. You want to show sensitive information.
  2. You are concerned someone may stumble across your Share URL.
  3. Use show -b USER:PASS ... to secure your project.

This example assumes you're running a local server on port 9292.

> show -b kept:secret 9292
Share this URL: https://r9cx.showoff.io/

When you visit your Share URL, you will see an HTTP basic auth prompt. Enter the username "kept" and password "secret" (or whatever credentials you chose).

Use a CNAME

  1. You have an unlimited account.
  2. You reserved http://my-name.showoff.io/ as a permanent URL.
  3. You have created a DNS CNAME to your permanent URL (e.g. dev.mysite.net resolves to my-name.showoff.io).
  4. Use show -c CNAME port to show off your project.

This example assumes you're running a local server on port 8080. CNAME support also works for virtual hosts.

> show -c dev.mysite.com 8080
Share this URL: http://dev.mysite.com/ (https://my-name.showoff.io/)

Switch Accounts

  1. You have several Showoff accounts.
  2. You want to activate a different account.
  3. Use show --switch ... to switch.

This example assumes you're running a local server on port 8000

> show --switch 8000
...

With WordPress

  1. You have WordPress installed locally.
  2. Use show VIRTUAL-HOST to show it off.

This example assumes you normally access your site as `http://wp.local/`:

> show wp.local
...

WordPress uses absolute URLs for hyperlinks, so people viewing your Share URL will still be refered to a local URL for assets and articles. To fix this, you can do either:

  1. Change the "Wordpress address" and "Site address" in "Admin > General Settings" to the Share URL. You will need to change this back when you're done.
  2. Add X-Forwarded-Host support. This will dynamically reconfigure host settings when you access a WordPress site through Showoff.

To add X-Forwarded-Host support, download x-forwarded-host.php, drop it into the `wp-includes` folder of your site, then follow the Installation instructions at the top of the file to update `wp-settings.php`.

FAQ

Can I get my own permanent showoff URL?

Yes, sign up for Unlimited Access and you can reserve a permanent showoff URL.

Why does my tunnel close after 5 minutes?

A tunnel will only last for 5 minutes if you don't have an account or have run out of credits. To extend your showoff sessions beyond 5 minutes please purchase some credits or upgrade to the Unlimited Access plan.

What are the system requirements for Showoff?

Showoff has been tested to work with Unix based systems (Mac OS X, BSD, Linux, etc..) and requires Ruby and Gem. (Both of these required packages are installed by default on Mac OS X.)

I have an idea for a showoff feature, who can I tell about it?

We’d love to hear your idea. Please send an email to  support@showoff.io.

I found a bug. Whom should I tell?

Please send an email to support@showoff.io. Describe what happened and include any error messages you see.

If I give you my email address you're not going to spam me right?

Correct. We hate spam as much as you do. We do not send spam, and we do not read spam.

Can I have more than one showoff session at a time?

Yes, however if your account has a permanent URL, only one of those showoff sessions will be able to use that permanent url. The other sessions will receive another random showoff url.

I saw warning messages while installing Showoff. What do they mean?

If you just installed showoff using gem install showoff-io, Gem may warn you that ~/.gem/.../bin isn't in your $PATH. You can fix this by installing showoff-io globally or by adding the local bin directory to your $PATH. To install Showoff globally, run:

sudo gem install showoff-io

I bought tokens, can I still use 5 minute free shows?

Yes, if you don't want to use tokens for a while, log out of Showoff.

show --logout ...

Each time you use show, it will ask if you have an account. Keep answering "no" until you're ready to use a token, then log back in.