In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of hosting WordPress locally using Docker Compose and setting up Cloudflare Zero Trust Tunnel as a reverse proxy. This setup allows you to run WordPress on your local machine while securely exposing it to the internet via Cloudflare’s Zero Trust Tunnel.

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your local machine.
• A Cloudflare account with access to Zero Trust Tunnel.

Step 1: Set Up WordPress with Docker Compose

1. Create a Docker Compose File: Create a new directory for your WordPress project and navigate into it. Then, create a file named docker-compose.yml with the following content:

   version: '3.1'

   services:
     wordpress:
       image: wordpress:latest
       ports:
         - "8000:80"
       environment:
         WORDPRESS_DB_HOST: db
         WORDPRESS_DB_USER: wordpress
         WORDPRESS_DB_PASSWORD: wordpress
         WORDPRESS_DB_NAME: wordpress
       volumes:
         - wordpress_data:/var/www/html

     db:
       image: mysql:5.7
       environment:
         MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: somewordpress
         MYSQL_DATABASE: wordpress
         MYSQL_USER: wordpress
         MYSQL_PASSWORD: wordpress
       volumes:
         - db_data:/var/lib/mysql

   volumes:
     wordpress_data:
     db_data:

2. Start Docker Compose: Run the following command to start the WordPress and MySQL containers:

   docker-compose up -d

3. Access WordPress: Open your web browser and navigate to http://localhost:8000. You should see the WordPress installation page.

Step 2: Set Up Cloudflare Zero Trust Tunnel

1. Install Cloudflare Tunnel: Download and install the Cloudflare Tunnel CLI (cloudflared) from the Cloudflare Tunnel documentation.
2. Authenticate Cloudflare Tunnel: Run the following command to authenticate cloudflared with your Cloudflare account:

   cloudflared tunnel login

Follow the instructions to log in to your Cloudflare account and authorize the tunnel.

3. Create a New Tunnel: Create a new tunnel with a unique name:

   cloudflared tunnel create my-wordpress-tunnel

4. Configure the Tunnel: Create a configuration file for your tunnel named config.yml with the following content:

   tunnel: <TUNNEL_ID>
   credentials-file: /path/to/.cloudflared/<TUNNEL_ID>.json

   ingress:
     - hostname: wordpress.example.com
       service: http://localhost:8000
     - service: http_status:404

Replace <TUNNEL_ID> with the ID of your tunnel, and wordpress.example.com with your desired hostname.

5. Start the Tunnel: Run the following command to start the tunnel:

   cloudflared tunnel run my-wordpress-tunnel

Step 3: Configure DNS and Access

1. Add a DNS Record: In your Cloudflare dashboard, navigate to the DNS settings for your domain. Add a CNAME record pointing wordpress.example.com (or your chosen hostname) to <TUNNEL_ID>.cfargotunnel.com.
2. Set Up Access Policies: In the Cloudflare dashboard, navigate to the Zero Trust section and create an access policy for your hostname to define who can access your WordPress site.

Conclusion

You have successfully set up WordPress locally with Docker Compose and exposed it to the internet using Cloudflare Zero Trust Tunnel as a reverse proxy. This setup provides a secure and scalable way to host WordPress for development or testing purposes.