> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.traycer.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Port forwarding > Reach a dev server on one of your machines from another, through a port an agent forwards. A port forward makes a localhost port on one of your machines reachable as a localhost port on another. Agents use it when a process on one machine, such as a dev server, has to be reached from another machine, such as the one running your browser or the [in-app browser](/panels/browsers). Traffic travels over the connection your hosts already hold. Both ends are loopback only, so nothing is opened to your network. ## How A Forward Starts Agents create forwards with the **Forward Port** tool. You can't start one from the app yourself; ask the agent, for example "forward the dev server to my laptop". * One end is always the agent's own host. The other is another host on your account. * The listening machine tries the same port number first, so `localhost:5173` stays `localhost:5173` and OAuth redirects, CORS allowlists and browser storage keep working. If that port is taken, another port is used and the agent is told which. * Only unprivileged ports (1024–65535) can be forwarded, and Traycer's own ports can't be. * Each consumer of a server gets its own forward. Only agents on the Chat interface have the forwarding tools. See [Terminal agents vs terminals](/concepts/terminal-agents-vs-terminals). ## When A Forward Ends A forward lasts until one of these happens: * You or the agent stops it. * The agent is stopped. * Either host restarts. * Someone cuts it on the other machine (see [Ports on the Other Machine](#ports-on-the-other-machine)). A forward that ends without being stopped becomes **Interrupted**, and the agent is told once. It doesn't come back on its own; ask the agent to forward the port again. An agent with an open forward can't be archived until the forward is stopped. ## In The Chat An agent's forwards appear in its **Background** panel, above the composer. Each row shows the forward's description, its port, and its state: | State | Meaning | | - | - | | **Forwarding** | The forward is working. | | **Interrupted** | The forward stopped working, for example because a host restarted. | * **Open localhost:\ in the browser** appears when the listening end is this computer. * **Stop** closes the forward and its open connections. * On an interrupted forward, **Clear** removes the record. Expand a row to see why it is in its state and what happened to it recently. **Stop all** in the Background panel doesn't stop forwards; each has its own **Stop**. ## In Settings **Settings › Host › Overview › Ports** lists the forwards on the host chosen in the host picker. See [Overview](/settings/host#ports). ### Forwards on This Host Forwards that this host's agents created. Each row shows the description, the port, the route (for example `laptop:5173 → build-box:5173`), open connections and bytes in and out. | State | Button | | - | - | | **Forwarding** | **Stop** | | **Binding** (asking the other machine for the port; nothing is listening yet) | **Stop** | | **Interrupted** | **Clear** | | **Stopped** | **Clear** | ### Ports on the Other Machine **Ports other machines hold here** lists ports that forwards from other machines use on this host. A row reads **Listening for \** when the port is open on this host and carries traffic to that machine, or **Reached by \** when that machine reaches this port through a forward. **Cut** closes the port here and its open connections. It asks "Cut port \?" first. The forward on the other machine becomes **Interrupted** and its agent is told. The lists refresh every 15 seconds while the page is open; **Refresh** reads them again now. When anything is forwarded or held, the **Ports** tab shows a count. If nothing is, the tab reads "Nothing is forwarded through \." This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.