GON (Name subject to name)

A devtool that allows you to use domains on your local machine and proxy them to a server

Introduction

Tired of using localhost:3000? localhost:8000? Tired of tweaking your hosts file or dealing with complex configurations? GON simplifies the process, making it easy to work with custom domains, whether for web development, testing, or collaboration.

What is Gon (Name subject to name)?

GON, short for "Global On-demand Network," (actually, it is just a play on the name of one of my favourite anime characters, Gon Freecs) is a powerful devtool designed to streamline your local development environment by effortlessly linking custom domains to your local projects and seamlessly proxying them to a remote server.

    gon link wip 3000
    # -> wip.local now points to localhost:3000
    # Then run gon start
    gon start

Key Features

• Simplified Domain Linking: Use intuitive commands to link custom domains to local ports effortlessly.
• Dynamic Subdomain Tunneling: Connect your local projects to live subdomains on our website for seamless sharing and collaboration.

Gon CLI

Installation

First be sure that you have Node/npm and Yarn installed. Then run the following command:

# YARN
yarn global add gon

# NPM
npm i -g gon

Gon CLI Commands

Note: Gon CLI is under active development and some of these commands have not yet been implemented.

Command	Description	Status
gon	(Defaults to gon setup)	🏗️
gon help	View Gon's help content	✅
gon help [command]	View Gon's help content for a single command	🏗️
gon init	Create a new Gon config in the current directory	❌
└ gon init --yes	Skip the prompts and use defaults	❌
gon setup	Install and configure everything needed to use gon cli	🏗️
gon link [project-name] [port]	Link a port to a domain	✅
gon link-dir [project-name] [port]	Link a directory to a domain	❌
gon unlink [project-name]	Remove a domain	✅
gon secure [project-name]	Serve a domain with HTTPS	❌
gon unsecure [project-name]	Serve a domain with HTTP	❌
gon clear	Removes all links	✅
gon list	Lists all the links	✅
gon links	Lists all the links	❌
└ gon links add [project-name] [port]	Link a port to a domain	❌
└ gon links remove [project-name]	Remove a domain	❌
gon start	Run DNS resolver and reverse proxy server	✅
gon tunnel [port]	Connect a port to a live subdomain on our website	🏗️
gon share [port]	Connect a port to a live subdomain on our website	🏗️

Gon Desktop

Roadmap

• .local and http forwarding
• https forwarding
• web app and live subdomains
• debugging and inspect tools
• Setup local dashboard
• Add other TLDs besides .local
• Serve directories
• Desktop app
• Development templates

TODO

• Add loading spinners and progress bars
• Box link list
• Use conf for configs

Notes

• So it seems the right approach is not editing the hosts file. Need to create a DNS server.
• Acrylic DNS for windows, DNSMasq for *unix
• Nginx server
• winsw for managing windows services or node-windows npm