How to Programmatically Set ngrok Authtoken in Java Application Without .authtoken() Method?

Question

I am working on a Java application that requires integrating ngrok to expose local servers to the internet. My specific challenge is the need to programmatically set the ngrok authtoken within my Java code. The common approach suggested in documentation and forums involves using a .authtoken() method with the ngrok client builder, like so:

`NgrokClient ngrokClient = new NgrokClient.Builder()
                               .authtoken("YOUR_AUTHTOKEN_HERE")
                               .build();`

However, in my scenario, the .authtoken() method is not recognized (it's highlighted in red in my IDE), indicating it's either not available or not applicable in the version of the ngrok Java client library I'm using. I am utilizing the java-ngrok library, but it seems it doesn't directly support setting the authtoken in this manner.

I appreciate any insights or suggestions on how to securely manage this configuration within Java code. Thank you in advance for your help!

I need to hardcode the ngrok authtoken directly in my Java application due to specific project requirements. The solution should allow for the ngrok client to authenticate using this hardcoded token when establishing tunnels. I've tried looking into the library's documentation for any alternative methods to set the authtoken programmatically but found none that fit my needs. Directly executing system commands from Java to start ngrok with the authtoken as a command-line argument, although this method is not ideal for my use case due to security concerns with hardcoding sensitive information in source code. Question: How can I programmatically set the ngrok authtoken within my Java application, given that the .authtoken() method is not available or not working in my setup? Are there any secure and effective workarounds or alternative approaches within Java to achieve this, preferably without resorting to external system commands?

Answer 1

The docs show how to do this, the method you're invoking doesn't exist. Instead, do:

 final JavaNgrokConfig javaNgrokConfig = new JavaNgrokConfig.Builder()
         .withAuthToken("<NGROK_AUTHTOKEN>");

 final NgrokClient ngrokClient = new NgrokClient.Builder()
         .withJavaNgrokConfig(javaNgrokConfig)
         .build();

Alternatively, having the NGROK_AUTHTOKEN environment variable set means you don't even need to do the above, just build a NgrokClient and it will use the environment variable by default.