free · the ngrok tutorial era is over
Following an ngrok Minecraft tutorial? Read this first
For years the standard answer to hosting Minecraft without port forwarding was an ngrok TCP tunnel, and thousands of tutorials still say so. ngrok remains a superb developer tool. The free Minecraft recipe those videos teach, though, has quietly stopped working the way they show it.
Since 2024, free ngrok TCP endpoints have required a payment card on file, which rules out most of the people following those tutorials. And the free address changes every time the tunnel restarts, so every session begins with posting a new host and port to the group chat. Self Hostd was built for exactly this job instead: a permanent free address for a Minecraft server on your own PC, with no card involved.
Where ngrok is strong
- Exactly what it says it is: a first-class tool for exposing local web services, webhooks and APIs while you develop them.
- Excellent documentation and reliable infrastructure that professionals depend on daily.
- Fine for a one-evening technical test, if you have a card on file and do not mind re-sharing the address.
Why this job wants a different tool
No payment card, no catch
The free tier is the product, not a trial. You need an account and nothing else; the funding comes from the cloud hosting we sell to people who outgrow their PC.
One address, forever
yourname.na.hostdservers.com is reserved when you create the server and never changes. Friends add it once, and nobody asks "what's the IP tonight?" again.
It knows what a Minecraft server is
ngrok forwards bytes and rightly does not care what they are. Our launcher sizes RAM sensibly, applies optimised Java flags, restarts crashed servers and explains failures in plain English.
The rest of the toolkit
A live console in the browser, control from Discord, and off-site backups every Tuesday and Saturday, all on the free tier.
Room to grow
When your PC cannot carry the pack or the player count, burst the same world onto our hardware at the same address, from about 6p an hour for a 4GB server, billed by the minute.
Side by side
| ngrok (free) | Self Hostd (free) | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Developers exposing local services | People hosting Minecraft for friends |
| Card required | Yes, for free TCP endpoints | No |
| Address | New host and port each time the tunnel restarts | Permanent subdomain, reserved on day one |
| Minecraft awareness | None, by design | RAM guidance, optimised flags, crash diagnosis, auto-restart |
| Backups | Not applicable | Twice-weekly, off-site, one-click restore |
| Console away from the PC | No | Browser and Discord |
| Cost of keeping one address | Paid feature | Free |
Based on each product's published free tier as of July 2026. If something here has changed, tell us and we will correct it.
From an ngrok setup to a permanent address
- 1Keep your folderIf you followed an ngrok tutorial you already have a server folder with a jar and a world in it. That is all you need; ngrok itself can go.
- 2Create a server and pairMake a free account, press Create your server and copy the 6-digit pairing code. Download the Self Hostd launcher into the folder, open it, paste the code and press Start.
- 3Share the address onceSend friends your new address. It will be the same address next week and next year, so this is the last time you do it.
Full step-by-step instructions, including the modpack path, live in the Self Hostd setup guide.
Questions you'd be right to ask
Why did my ngrok Minecraft server stop working?
The usual suspects: free TCP endpoints now require a verified payment card on the account, the agent needs an authtoken from your ngrok dashboard, or the tunnel address changed when it restarted and your friends are connecting to the old one. None of these are bugs; ngrok is aimed at developers and has tightened its free tier accordingly.
Is ngrok bad?
Not remotely; it is one of the best tools in its own field. It was just never designed to be a Minecraft server's front door, and its free tier has grown less suited to that use over time.
Will my friends notice any difference?
One, immediately: the address stops changing. They add your hostdservers.com address once and it works every session, with no port number to remember.
What does Self Hostd cost?
Nothing for the core product: the address, the tunnel, the panel with live console, Discord control, twice-weekly off-site backups and crash diagnosis, for up to three servers per account. Free servers show a short Hostd credit in the server list. Bursting your world onto our hardware is the only paid feature, at 1.5p per GB of RAM per hour.
The last server address you will ever share
Coming from somewhere else?