Architecture

Local Bridge keeps file serving on your machine while using Cloudflare for public ingress and a separate API for licensing and upgrades. The result is a controlled public share without an upload pipeline or deployment workflow.

Traffic Flow

Public internet
      |
      v  HTTPS / TLS
Cloudflare edge
      |
      v
cloudflared tunnel process
      |
      v
Local Bridge file server
      |
      v
Shared local folder

The Local File Server

When you run Local Bridge against a directory, the binary starts an embedded HTTP file server on a local port. That server renders directory listings, serves direct file downloads, and exposes the built-in /zip download path for eligible folder views.

Before serving a path, Local Bridge validates that the request stays inside the shared root and applies ignore rules such as .lbignore. If --password is set, requests also pass through the authentication middleware before any file response is returned.

The Cloudflare Edge Connection

Rather than operating a relay fleet or requiring a deployment target, Local Bridge starts a local cloudflared subprocess and points it at the embedded file server. Cloudflare handles public ingress while the actual content stays on your machine.

The tunnel process maintains an outbound connection to Cloudflare over TLS on port 443. That means the share can be reached publicly without inbound firewall exceptions, router changes, or a manually managed reverse proxy.

Background Process Management

If --bg is specified, the CLI detaches the local share process into a background daemon supported on Windows, macOS, and Linux. An internal registry keeps track of active shares so they can be managed with localbridge list and localbridge stop.