how is me launching server to preview me website

ok so u know how having a home network server is cool? it can be used for things like communicating between devices & website previewing before publishing it to a server

yeah so there some tutorials related to this, however when i tried following their steps, oh no! no work! no good!!!!!!

after few searches and wasted nerves, i finally managed to make it work. hooray! now i can tell u how i did it (literally the point of the post)

tho i won't call this a tutoral, perhaps u can learn a thing or 2. ALSO, i use windows so idk how this be done in other OS

locally launching

for all the server shenanigans i have python installed (version 3.8.10, dunno how it'd work on newer versions)

ok so first i open up command prompt & enter the website folder using cd

then i enter this command: python -m http.server 42072

now what the hell that means? here explanation: the python calls up the program language in the command, then the -m tells python smth along the lines of "i'd like to use a module!", with the http.server being the module specified & 42072 being the port!

with that outta the way, now i try visiting http://localhost:42072! and WOA it work!!!!1!1

now i wanna launch it from the ip address of me network.

first i open up another instance of command prompt, then enter command ipconfig

now i open up the internet icon, then click on "Properties" (like in the screenshot). scroll down till i find "IPv4 address" in the Properties section, copy the ip and replace localhost in http://localhost:42072 with the ip

and it works! woo!imjaefrikbaejmrikgbjm IEDSNJHBISKAEJTRBHNMISK

now i go ahead and try opening up the server on my mobil phone. i enter the address and it's loading... loading...... loading............ the hell does it mean "This site can't be reached"???

well i found out the hard way that home network is too overprotective. time to fix that!

making server accessible by other devices in a network

as u saw, locally launching part was easy. now this is where boys become men, men become dudes and dudes become boys.

first i go back to internet settings, and on the top i switch network profile from public to private (like in the screenshot)

then under the network profile i click on Configure firewall and security settings, ensuring it looks something like this:

now i click on Advanced settings, then i go Inbound Rules on the left, then on the right i click on New Rule...

now in the creation menu i select Port, next i enter the beloved port 42072 in Specific local ports, next i keep Allow the connection selected, then keep 3 boxes checked and then give it a name.

after i give name i click on finish, and now it should work.

i open up the server on mobile, and WOAH IT WORKS!!!!1!1!1!

even better part is that i don't hav to go through making server accessible again when i wanna launch server next time! (except for like grabbing new ip or switching profile back to private network after reconnecting to internet)

so yeah that's really all

september 13th, 2026 // post10