Show HN: Pipenet – A Modern Alternative to Localtunnel

Pipenet just slid into Show HN promising a modern, one-package way to share a local app with the world—use the public server or roll your own—and the crowd instantly split into cheers and side‑eyes. One early fan went full curator, shouting “Add it to the list” and dropping the awesome‑tunneling link, while others poked the tech to see if it’s more than another tunnel. The pitch: simple commands, a shareable link, and support for regular web pages, live connections like chat (WebSocket), and long‑running updates (SSE). For non‑devs, think: you press start, get a link, and your local site is suddenly viewable online.

Then the drama: speed. A tester who tried competing tools said they were slow on free tiers and asked if fast traffic is inherently pricey, hinting at a showdown between convenience and performance. Feature‑hungry folks pushed for “support TCP and UDP” (that’s non‑web traffic), while power users begged for a Docker + Caddy setup to auto handle HTTPS certificates for safer links. A curious eye asked what framework powers the slick site, and someone dropped the perfect meme: “PiperNet?”—cue Silicon Valley flashbacks. Between jokes and wishlists, the vibe is clear: people love the DIY control—custom domains, lifecycle hooks, logs—but they want real speed and more protocols before crowning Pipenet king.