# Start a Holesail server

It is quite easy to share a port securely with holesail:

```
holesail --live <PORT>
```

Supported flags:

| Option   | Purpose                                      | Required / Optional                           |
| -------- | -------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| --live   | Port to expose / set live                    | Required                                      |
| --host   | Listen to a custom host                      | Optional. Default is 127.0.0.1                |
| --public | Use public connection mode                   | Optional. Default is private connection mode. |
| --key    | Connect to a server using its key            | Optional. Automatically generated by default  |
| --force  | Bypass custom connection string length limit | Optional. Default is false                    |
| --log    | Start debug logging                          | Optional.                                     |

<mark style="color:orange;">Examples:</mark>

1. Start a Holesail server on port 3000 with default host and private mode:

```
holesail --live 3000
```

2. Start a Holesail server on port 3000 for sharing with third parties (public connection string):

```
holesail --live 3000 --public
```

3. Start a Holesail server on port 3000 with a custom host and custom connection string:

```
holesail --live 3000 --host 192.168.1.1 --key "my-custom-key-string"
```

4. Start a holesail server with custom connection key and its smaller than 32 characters:

```
holesail --live 4545 --key "its-quite-small" --force
```

You can combine multiple options according to your needs. After executing any of the command above, you will get a QR code and a connection string along with some basic information.

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