How do I access my home server from outside my network?
Without opening ports, installing a VPN, or trusting a cloud with your SSH keys.
What you are running into
You have a machine at home: a NAS, a media box, a small Linux server, a Proxmox host. On the couch it is a one-line SSH away. From anywhere else it is unreachable, because your router does not accept connections from the internet, and it should not.
The usual answers all cost something. Port forwarding puts your SSH daemon on the public internet where it will be scanned within minutes. A VPN means running and maintaining another service, and a client on every device. Cloud tunnels ask you to install an agent on the server and route your traffic through somebody else's account.
How SSH Guru handles it
A bridge that dials out
A $5 ESP32-S3 board you flash from the browser and plug into power at home. It opens one outbound connection to SSH Guru and holds it. Nothing on your router changes.
The SSH client is in your browser
The SSH session runs end to end between your browser and your server. The bridge and the relay carry encrypted bytes they cannot read. Your keys never leave the browser.
The board decides what it will reach
During setup you write which addresses and ports the board may dial. Those rules live on the board and can only be changed over USB. Unplug it and the path is gone.
What to do, step by step
- Create a free account
Sign up at sshguru.com and set a vault passphrase. The passphrase encrypts your keys in the browser; we never receive it.
- Order a board
Any ESP32-S3 Mini, Zero or SuperMini, or a Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3. Links to the usual stores are in the bridge wizard.
- Flash it from the browser
Open Bridges, choose New bridge, plug the board into a USB port on your laptop, and follow the wizard (use Chrome or Edge for this step; flashing needs Web Serial). It writes the firmware, your Wi-Fi details and the allow list to the board. Wi-Fi credentials go straight to the board; they are not sent to us.
- Write the allow list
Add the address of the machine you want to reach, for example 192.168.1.20 on port 22. Start narrow; you can add more over USB later.
- Plug it in at home
Any USB power supply. The board joins your Wi-Fi and appears as online in your Bridges list within a minute.
- Add the server
New server, hostname 192.168.1.20, choose the bridge as the route, paste your key or password. Connect from anywhere.
Questions
Do I need to change anything on my router?
No. The bridge only makes outbound connections, the same as a laptop browsing the web. No port forwarding, no UPnP, no DDNS.
Can SSH Guru see my session?
No. The SSH client runs in your browser and the host key is checked there. The relay and the bridge see encrypted bytes and connection metadata only.
What if the board is stolen or someone plugs into it?
Treat physical access as full control of that board and of the Wi-Fi network it joined. Revoke it in the app and change the Wi-Fi password.