Secure Tunnel Desktop App
About
The SecureTunnel utility is available in form of a desktop application and a command-line utility.
The desktop app is a wrapper on the command-line functionality. It provides a visual interface to the tunnel settings.
The desktop app works on Windows and Mac OS systems.
It works with both HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
The app is resource-friendly. It doesn’t have any specific requirements and can run on almost any machine, even on a “weak” one.
For details of the tunnel functioning, see Local Testing - BitBar SecureTunnel.
1. Set up the SecureTunnel Desktop App
You can download the tunnel desktop app from the product UI.
Log in to BitBar and click Secure Tunnel in the toolbar.
In the subsequent dialog box, click the link on the Desktop tab page to download the SecureTunnel desktop installer:
Note
BitBar automatically provides the package that matches your operating system: Windows or MacOS.
Run the downloaded installer. It will set up the application on your machine.
Depending on the security settings, the operating system may ask your permission to run the downloaded executable. Grant the permission.
The installer will launch the SecureTunnel desktop app automatically. Log in, specify the tunnel settings and create a connection.
If the app didn’t start automatically for some reason (this could happen on some systems), run it manually.
Important
You need to launch the desktop app at least once after installing in order for it to complete its configuration.
2. Start the tunnel
You can start the tunnel from the BitBar website or your computer (see information below). Either way works fine. Select the mode that suits your needs best.
From the BitBar website
Go to the BitBar website in your browser, and click Secure Tunnel at the top.
On the Desktop App tab, select the connection type and options (see Tunnel Settings for details), and then click Connect:
For information on tunnel work mode and parameters, see Tunnel Settings.
The browser will ask you for permission to run the SecureTunnel app installed on your computer. Grant the permission:
The SecureTunnel desktop app will start on your computer.
From your computer
Run the downloaded SecureTunnel desktop application.
Type in your BitBar account and specify the authentication key, then click Login:
Log in to BitBar, click the user icon in the top-right corner, and select My Account.
Go to [My Integrations] API Access > API tab and copy the API key value:
Specify the connection type and options (see Tunnel Settings for details), then click Connect:
Important
The tunnel connects to the geo.tunnel.smartbear.com server through port 443. It is important that proxies and firewalls running in your network allow connection to this URL and port.
From your computer
Run the downloaded SecureTunnel desktop application.
Type in your BitBar account and specify the authentication key, then click Login:
Log in to BitBar, click the user icon in the top-right corner, and select My Account.
Go to [My Integrations] API Access > API tab and copy the API key value:
Specify the connection type and options (see Tunnel Settings for details), then click Connect:
Important
The tunnel connects to the geo.tunnel.smartbear.com server through port 443. It is important that proxies and firewalls running in your network allow connection to this URL and port.
3. Run your tests
After the tunnel is up and running, you can create or run your tests as you regularly do. For details, see the following links:
Important
When you have the tunnel up and running, tests of all types — live, screenshots, automated (Record and Replay, Selenium, and others) — will send their traffic through that tunnel.
It’s important to check if the tunnel is on before you start testing. See how you can do this.
Due to specifics of some operating systems and browsers, the URLs that include
localhost,localor127.0.0.1may not open through the tunnel. For information on possible workarounds, see How to refer to local resources.
4. Close the tunnel
Option 1 – From the website
Regardless of the way you started the tunnel, you can close it on the BitBar website: open the Secure Tunnel dialog box and click Disconnect:
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Option 2 – From your computer
You can also close the tunnel from the desktop app — click Disconnect or Logout for this:
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“Disconnect” will close the tunnel, but will keep you logged in, so you can quickly recreate the tunnel with the same or other parameters. “Logout” will close the tunnel and log you out.
Option 3 – From the command line
One more way to close the tunnel is to run the command-line utility with the --kill parameter specified.
Tunnel settings
For information on the tunnel work mode and parameters, see Tunnel Settings.
Important
For the SecureTunnel utility to be able to function properly, the proxies and firewalls working in your local network should allow connection to
geo.tunnel.smartbear.comon port443.It’s important for you to start the tunnel before running or creating your tests.
A new tunnel you start with your credentials closes other tunnels you started earlier.
Since the tunnel is working on your computer, all DNS resolutions occur on your machine (its
hostsfile is used).For information on using the tunnels in automated tests, see Using Tunnels in Automated Tests.