Port forwarding
Overview
Create SSH tunnels to reach services behind your servers, or to let a server reach something on your side.
Three kinds of tunnels
| Type | Use it when you want to… |
|---|---|
| Local | open a service that only the server can reach, such as a database, on your Mac |
| Remote | let the server reach a service on your Mac or your network |
| Dynamic | send your browser or another app’s traffic through the server, as a SOCKS proxy |
Create a rule
- Open Port Forwarding in the sidebar and click New Forwarding.
- Choose Local, Remote or Dynamic.
- Give it a name and choose the saved host to connect through.
- Fill in the fields for the selected type. Local and Remote rules need a destination address and port; Dynamic rules only need a listening address and port.
- Optionally turn on Reconnect automatically.
- Click Save & Connect to start it right away, or Save to start it later.
Start and stop
Each rule card shows its route, for example Local:5433 → db-server → 127.0.0.1:5432. Double-click a card to connect. Hover it for Edit and the available connection action. Right-click for Reconnect, Details, Duplicate and Delete.
Details opens the rule in the inspector. If a tunnel fails, click the red icon to see what went wrong.
Good to know
- Tunnels run on their own. They don’t need an open terminal and keep running when you close windows.
- Rules sign in with their host’s settings, including its jump host.
- When you quit Termbit, all tunnels stop. After relaunch, start the ones you need again.
- By default, tunnels listen on
127.0.0.1. For local and dynamic tunnels that means only your Mac can use them; a remote tunnel listens on the server, so there it means only the server itself.