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Gateways

A gateway is a network interface that connects your server to the Internet. Your router is the default gateway — it is always present. You can add additional gateways using WireGuard configuration files. All gateways are managed under System > Gateways.

Gateway Types

Every gateway routes outbound traffic from your server to the Internet. Some gateways also accept inbound connections. StartOS automatically detects the type:

  • Inbound/outbound — routes outbound traffic and accepts inbound connections. Your router and StartTunnel are inbound/outbound gateways. These are used for inbound VPN access and clearnet hosting.

  • Outbound only — routes outbound traffic but does not accept inbound connections. Commercial VPN providers (Mullvad, ProtonVPN, etc.) are outbound-only gateways. These are used as outbound VPNs.

Note

If you are running StartOS on a VPS with a public IP address, there is no router gateway. Your server’s network interface is directly exposed to the Internet.

Adding a Gateway

  1. Navigate to System > Gateways and click “Add”.

  2. Upload or paste a WireGuard configuration file from your VPN provider or StartTunnel instance.

    StartOS will automatically detect the gateway type:

    • StartTunnel config files are recognized and marked as inbound/outbound gateways.
    • All other WireGuard configs are marked as outbound-only gateways.