Debug Webhooks Locally with ngrok or Cloudflare Tunnel

When self-hosting n8n behind a NAT or firewall, external services cannot reach your webhook URLs. Use a tunneling tool to expose your local n8n instance to the internet during development. This lets you receive real webhook events from services like GitHub, Stripe, or Shopify without deploying to a public server.

Real-world example: You run n8n locally on localhost:5678 and need to test a GitHub webhook that fires on pull request events.

Using ngrok:

# Install ngrok (macOS)

brew install ngrok

# Start a tunnel to your local n8n

ngrok http 5678

# Output:

# Forwarding https://a1b2c3d4.ngrok-free.app -> http://localhost:5678

```text
Then set your webhook path in n8n and configure GitHub:

```yaml

# n8n Webhook node path

webhook/github/pull-requests

# Full URL to give GitHub (use the ngrok URL + production webhook path)

https://a1b2c3d4.ngrok-free.app/webhook/github/pull-requests

# Important: Use /webhook/ (production), not /webhook-test/

# and make sure the workflow is activated

```text
Using **Cloudflare Tunnel** (more stable for longer sessions):

```bash

# Install cloudflared

brew install cloudflared

# Start a quick tunnel (no account needed)

cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:5678

# Output:

# Your quick Tunnel has been created!

# https://random-words-here.trycloudflare.com

```text
```yaml

# Environment variable alternative (set in .env or docker-compose)

# Tell n8n its public URL so it generates correct webhook URLs:

WEBHOOK_URL=https://a1b2c3d4.ngrok-free.app/
```text
> **Note: Set WEBHOOK_URL for correct URL display**
>
> Without setting `WEBHOOK_URL`, the n8n editor will still show `http://localhost:5678/webhook/...` as the production URL. Setting this environment variable makes n8n display the tunnel URL directly in the editor, reducing copy-paste errors.

This lets you develop and debug with real webhook traffic without deploying anything.

**Related:** [Set a Unique Encryption Key and Back It Up](../security-best-practices/01-set-a-unique-encryption-key-and-back-it-up.md) | [Use the HTTP Request Node as a Universal Connector](../integration-patterns/01-use-the-http-request-node-as-a-universal-connector.md)