How to Use Local Network While Using BrowserStack

Hi, I’m Nadeem — an ISTQB-certified QA engineer with over 7 years of experience in mobile, web, and cross-browser testing. If you’ve ever needed to test websites hosted on your local machine or internal staging environments using BrowserStack, this guide is for you.

If you're wondering how to use local network while using BrowserStack, this guide will walk you through it step by step — from setup to real device validation.

In this post, we’ll walk through exactly how to use local network while using BrowserStack — safely, securely, and with real device coverage.

Why Use Local Testing on BrowserStack?

BrowserStack provides a cloud platform for testing your website or app on thousands of real browsers and devices. But what if your app isn’t deployed publicly yet?

That’s where BrowserStack Local comes in. It lets you securely test local servers, staging environments, and internal networks — without exposing them to the public internet.

When Should You Use Local Testing?

You're testing a website on localhost or 127.0.0.1
You're accessing staging environments restricted by VPN/firewall
Your APIs are not yet deployed on public URLs
You want to simulate real devices accessing your dev machine

In all of these cases, you need a secure tunnel from BrowserStack's cloud to your machine — and that’s exactly what we’ll set up.

Step-by-Step: How to Use Local Network While Using BrowserStack

1. Download the BrowserStack Local Binary

Go to the official link: browserstack.com/local-testing

Download the binary for your OS (macOS, Windows, or Linux) and unzip it.

2. Authenticate Using Your Access Key

In your terminal, run:

./BrowserStackLocal --key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY

Replace YOUR_ACCESS_KEY with the one from your BrowserStack account dashboard.

3. Confirm the Connection

Once the binary connects, you'll see a message: "You can now access your local server(s) in our remote browser."

Try accessing localhost:3000 or whatever local port your app runs on — from a real device in BrowserStack!

4. Automate with BrowserStack Local in Selenium

If you're using Selenium or Playwright, you can enable local testing with capabilities:

{
  "browserstack.local": "true",
  "browserstack.localIdentifier": "QA_ENV_123"
}

Make sure to start the local tunnel before launching your tests.

5. Use Local Identifier (Optional but Recommended)

If you’re running multiple parallel sessions or in CI/CD, provide a unique identifier:

./BrowserStackLocal --key YOUR_ACCESS_KEY --local-identifier QA_ENV_123

This helps isolate each tunnel session and avoids conflicts.

Tips for a Stable Local Testing Session

Keep the tunnel open until your tests complete
Whitelist domains/ports if using firewalls

Use verbose mode for debugging:

./BrowserStackLocal --key YOUR_KEY --verbose true

Automate teardown in CI to stop the binary after test completion

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Can't access localhost? Confirm your app is running and listening on the right port.
Proxy blocking traffic? Set the correct proxy flags or run without one.
Stuck on “connecting…”? Check your access key and firewall settings.

Summary

Using your local network while testing on BrowserStack unlocks powerful testing capabilities — including staging environments, under-development apps, and firewall-restricted APIs. With the BrowserStack Local binary, you can tunnel securely and test on real browsers and devices with zero code changes to your app.

It’s fast, secure, and essential for any serious QA workflow.

By following these steps, you now know how to use local network while using BrowserStack to test internal environments, localhost, or under-development builds securely and at scale.

How to use local network while using BrowserStack