---
title: Locally-managed tunnels · Cloudflare Zero Trust docs
description: A locally-managed tunnel is a Cloudflare Tunnel created by running
  cloudflared tunnel create <NAME> on the command line. Tunnel configuration is
  stored in your local cloudflared directory.
lastUpdated: 2025-10-21T14:33:19.000Z
chatbotDeprioritize: false
source_url:
  html: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/
  md: https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/index.md
---

A locally-managed tunnel is a Cloudflare Tunnel created by running `cloudflared tunnel create <NAME>` on the command line. Tunnel configuration is stored in your local [cloudflared directory](#default-cloudflared-directory).

Note

Cloudflare recommends setting up a [remotely-managed tunnel](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/get-started/create-remote-tunnel/). Remotely-managed configurations are stored on Cloudflare, which allows you to manage the tunnel from any machine using the dashboard, API, or Terraform.

* [Create a locally-managed tunnel](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/create-local-tunnel/)
* [Configuration file](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/configuration-file/)
* [Run as a service](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/as-a-service/)
* [Useful commands](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/tunnel-useful-commands/)
* [Tunnel permissions](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/tunnel-permissions/)
* [Useful terms](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-one/networks/connectors/cloudflare-tunnel/do-more-with-tunnels/local-management/local-tunnel-terms/)
