SSH Tunnel — OpenClaw Glossary
A method of creating an encrypted connection between your local computer and a remote server to securely forward network traffic. It allows you to access private ports on the server as if they were running on your own laptop.
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SSH tunnel ek secure underground pipe ki tarah hai. Iska use karke aap apne VPS ke private port (jaise 18789) ko apne laptop se connect kar sakte ho. Aisa lagta hai jaise OpenClaw aapke laptop par hi chal raha ho, bina kisi firewall ko open kiye.
What is an SSH Tunnel?
An SSH Tunnel (also known as SSH port forwarding) is a way to route local network traffic through an encrypted SSH connection to a remote server.
When you create a tunnel, your SSH client listens on a port on your local laptop. Any data sent to that local port is encrypted, sent over the SSH connection to the remote VPS, and then forwarded to a specific destination (like your OpenClaw Gateway).
Why it matters for OpenClaw
The OpenClaw Gateway listens on localhost:18789 by default. This means it can only be accessed from inside the VPS. You cannot type your VPS IP address into your browser to see the dashboard because your firewall blocks it (and you shouldn’t allow it).
An SSH tunnel bridges this gap perfectly. By running a single command on your laptop:
ssh -L 18789:localhost:18789 clawuser@your_server_ipYou are telling SSH: “Take port 18789 on my laptop, and securely connect it to localhost:18789 on the VPS.”
You can then open your web browser and go to http://localhost:18789. You will see the OpenClaw dashboard, but the traffic is safely traveling through the encrypted SSH tunnel.
Common mistake
Closing the terminal that is running the tunnel.
The SSH tunnel only exists as long as that specific SSH connection is open. If you close the terminal window where you ran the ssh -L command, the tunnel collapses, and your dashboard will immediately show “Site cannot be reached.”
Fix: Keep the terminal window open while you are using the dashboard. You can minimize it, but do not close it.
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