A comprehensive guide and toolset for managing SSH tunnels, secure port forwarding, and bastion host configurations.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install ssh-tunnel
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install ssh-tunnel using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is SSH Tunneling & Secure Remote Access?
This skill provides a robust framework for handling secure remote access via the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol. It simplifies complex networking tasks like local and remote port forwarding, dynamic SOCKS proxies, and multi-hop jump host connections. By leveraging these Openclaw Skills, developers can securely bridge firewalls, access internal databases, and manage remote infrastructure with high-performance configurations.
The content covers everything from basic command-line usage to advanced configuration patterns for professional DevOps environments, ensuring that your remote workflows are both efficient and encrypted. It serves as a technical blueprint for anyone needing to navigate complex network topologies through secure tunnels.
SSH Tunneling & Secure Remote Access Use Cases
- Accessing a private remote database (e.g., PostgreSQL) through a secure firewall using local port forwarding.
- Exposing a local web development server to a remote machine for testing via remote port forwarding.
- Routing browser traffic through a remote server using a dynamic SOCKS5 proxy for secure browsing.
- Connecting to internal private network servers through a bastion or jump host.
- Managing high-volume file transfers securely using scp or rsync over SSH.
How SSH Tunneling & Secure Remote Access Works
- Initialize an SSH connection with specific flags (-L, -R, or -D) to establish a secure encrypted tunnel between local and remote endpoints.
- Configure jump hosts or bastions using ProxyJump to route traffic through intermediary security layers.
- Utilize the SSH agent and key management to handle authentication without manual password entry.
- Apply optimized configuration patterns in ~/.ssh/config for connection multiplexing and persistent keepalives.
- Execute secure file transfers or debugging commands through the established encrypted channel.
SSH Tunneling & Secure Remote Access Setup
Ensure the OpenSSH client is installed on your local machine. You can verify this by running ssh -V. To integrate these Openclaw Skills into your workflow, prepare your SSH directory and configuration file:
mkdir -p ~/.ssh/sockets
chmod 700 ~/.ssh
touch ~/.ssh/config
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/config
Generate a secure Ed25519 key pair for modern, high-performance authentication:
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"
SSH Tunneling & Secure Remote Access Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill interacts with the standard SSH filesystem hierarchy and configuration formats to maintain security and persistence. Below is how the data is organized:
| Component | Purpose | Permissions |
|---|---|---|
~/.ssh/config |
Main configuration file for host aliases and tunnel settings | 600 |
~/.ssh/authorized_keys |
List of public keys allowed to log into the remote server | 600 |
~/.ssh/id_ed25519 |
Private identity key (must remain secret) | 600 |
~/.ssh/sockets/ |
Directory for connection multiplexing control sockets | 700 |
Metadata includes connection parameters, port mapping pairs, and jump host chains defined within the configuration file.
SSH Tunneling & Secure Remote Access Advanced Features
- Connection Multiplexing: Reuse a single TCP connection for multiple SSH sessions to eliminate handshake latency.
- Agent Forwarding: Securely use local keys on remote servers without physically copying the private key to the remote host.
- Keepalive Configuration: Use ServerAliveInterval to prevent tunnel drops across stateful firewalls or idle timeouts.
- Escape Sequences: Use the sequence Enter + tilde + dot to instantly kill frozen or unresponsive remote sessions.
- SOCKS5 Dynamic Proxying: Turn any remote server into a secure gateway for all application traffic using dynamic port forwarding.
SKILL.md
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