7.9k stars · Apache-2.0 (read from the About sidebar on 2026-09-10) · v0.28.6 (01 Sep, therefore 1 September 2026 — a past bare date), read from /releases/latest; 16 commits to main since the tag
A guarded front door for a server, with two-factor sign-in and a recording of every session.
▶Repo detailsthe review · specs · pros & cons · install
What it is
Warpgate is a bastion. A bastion is a single guarded machine that all access goes through, so the machines behind it never face the internet. It handles SSH, HTTPS, databases and remote desktop, and it needs nothing installed on your laptop.What it is good for. Anyone running one or two servers alone, which is the case where this is normally skipped. You can work two ways. Open the web page and get a terminal, or a MySQL or PostgreSQL session, in the browser. Or keep using your normal ssh command and point it at Warpgate instead. The session recording is worth more than it sounds. The first time a customer asks whether you keep access logs, the honest answer stops being no.
- One binary and no separate database. It uses SQLite, a database that lives in a single file, so there is nothing extra to install or back up.
- Nothing to install on the machine you connect from. A browser is enough, and your normal
sshstill works. - The project states that it is free and will stay free, with no features held back for a paid tier. Two-factor sign-in is included, which some competitors charge for.
- You are adding a single point of failure in front of your only server. Keep another way in before you switch over — your hosting company's console, or a firewall rule allowing your own address through.
- No memory or processor minimum is published, so plan to watch it for the first week.
- It is a small project funded by support contracts. The licence is safe, but the number of people maintaining it is not large.
docker run --rm -it -v /opt/warpgate:/data ghcr.io/warp-tech/warpgate setup docker run --rm --name warpgate -p 8888:8888 -p 2222:2222 \ -it -v /opt/warpgate:/data ghcr.io/warp-tech/warpgate