Azure

Set up an Azure Linux VM with the Azure CLI, apply Network Security Group (NSG) hardening, configure Azure Bastion for SSH access, and install OpenClaw.

What you will do

• Create Azure networking (VNet, subnets, NSG) and compute resources with the Azure CLI
• Apply NSG rules so VM SSH is allowed only from Azure Bastion
• Use Azure Bastion for SSH access (no public IP on the VM)
• Install OpenClaw with the installer script
• Verify the gateway

What you need

• An Azure subscription with permission to create compute and network resources
• Azure CLI installed (see Azure CLI install steps)
• An SSH key pair (this guide covers generating one if needed)
• About 20-30 minutes

Configure deployment

1. Sign in to Azure CLI

   az login
   az extension add -n ssh
   

   The ssh extension is required for Azure Bastion native SSH tunneling.

2. Register required resource providers (one time)

   az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Compute
   az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Network
   

   Verify registration; wait until both show Registered.

   az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Compute --query registrationState -o tsv
   az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Network --query registrationState -o tsv
   
3. Set deployment variables

   RG="rg-openclaw"
   LOCATION="westus2"
   VNET_NAME="vnet-openclaw"
   VNET_PREFIX="10.40.0.0/16"
   VM_SUBNET_NAME="snet-openclaw-vm"
   VM_SUBNET_PREFIX="10.40.2.0/24"
   BASTION_SUBNET_PREFIX="10.40.1.0/26"
   NSG_NAME="nsg-openclaw-vm"
   VM_NAME="vm-openclaw"
   ADMIN_USERNAME="openclaw"
   BASTION_NAME="bas-openclaw"
   BASTION_PIP_NAME="pip-openclaw-bastion"
   

   Adjust names and CIDR ranges to fit your environment. The Bastion subnet must be at least /26.

4. Select an SSH key

   Use your existing public key if you have one:

   SSH_PUB_KEY="$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)"
   

   Otherwise, generate one:

   ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -a 100 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -C "[e-mail]"
   SSH_PUB_KEY="$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)"
   
5. Select VM size and OS disk size

   VM_SIZE="Standard_B2as_v2"
   OS_DISK_SIZE_GB=64
   

   • Start smaller for light usage and scale up later.
   • Use more vCPU/RAM/disk for heavier automation, more channels, or larger model/tool workloads.
   • If a size is unavailable in your region or subscription quota, pick the closest available SKU.

   List VM sizes available in your target region:

   az vm list-skus --location "${LOCATION}" --resource-type virtualMachines -o table
   

   Check your current vCPU and disk usage/quota:

   az vm list-usage --location "${LOCATION}" -o table
   

Deploy Azure resources

1. Create the resource group

   az group create -n "${RG}" -l "${LOCATION}"
   
2. Create the network security group

   Create the NSG and add rules so only the Bastion subnet can SSH into the VM.

   az network nsg create \
     -g "${RG}" -n "${NSG_NAME}" -l "${LOCATION}"
   
   # Allow SSH from the Bastion subnet only
   az network nsg rule create \
     -g "${RG}" --nsg-name "${NSG_NAME}" \
     -n AllowSshFromBastionSubnet --priority 100 \
     --access Allow --direction Inbound --protocol Tcp \
     --source-address-prefixes "${BASTION_SUBNET_PREFIX}" \
     --destination-port-ranges 22
   
   # Deny SSH from the public internet
   az network nsg rule create \
     -g "${RG}" --nsg-name "${NSG_NAME}" \
     -n DenyInternetSsh --priority 110 \
     --access Deny --direction Inbound --protocol Tcp \
     --source-address-prefixes Internet \
     --destination-port-ranges 22
   
   # Deny SSH from other VNet sources
   az network nsg rule create \
     -g "${RG}" --nsg-name "${NSG_NAME}" \
     -n DenyVnetSsh --priority 120 \
     --access Deny --direction Inbound --protocol Tcp \
     --source-address-prefixes VirtualNetwork \
     --destination-port-ranges 22
   

   Rules evaluate by priority, lowest number first: Bastion traffic is allowed at 100, then all other SSH is blocked at 110 and 120.

3. Create the virtual network and subnets

   Create the VNet with the VM subnet (NSG attached), then add the Bastion subnet.

   az network vnet create \
     -g "${RG}" -n "${VNET_NAME}" -l "${LOCATION}" \
     --address-prefixes "${VNET_PREFIX}" \
     --subnet-name "${VM_SUBNET_NAME}" \
     --subnet-prefixes "${VM_SUBNET_PREFIX}"
   
   # Attach the NSG to the VM subnet
   az network vnet subnet update \
     -g "${RG}" --vnet-name "${VNET_NAME}" \
     -n "${VM_SUBNET_NAME}" --nsg "${NSG_NAME}"
   
   # AzureBastionSubnet: this exact name is required by Azure
   az network vnet subnet create \
     -g "${RG}" --vnet-name "${VNET_NAME}" \
     -n AzureBastionSubnet \
     --address-prefixes "${BASTION_SUBNET_PREFIX}"
   
4. Create the VM

   The VM gets no public IP. SSH access goes exclusively through Azure Bastion.

   az vm create \
     -g "${RG}" -n "${VM_NAME}" -l "${LOCATION}" \
     --image "Canonical:ubuntu-24_04-lts:server:latest" \
     --size "${VM_SIZE}" \
     --os-disk-size-gb "${OS_DISK_SIZE_GB}" \
     --storage-sku StandardSSD_LRS \
     --admin-username "${ADMIN_USERNAME}" \
     --ssh-key-values "${SSH_PUB_KEY}" \
     --vnet-name "${VNET_NAME}" \
     --subnet "${VM_SUBNET_NAME}" \
     --public-ip-address "" \
     --nsg ""
   

   --public-ip-address "" prevents a public IP from being assigned. --nsg "" skips a per-NIC NSG since the subnet-level NSG already handles security.

   To pin a specific Ubuntu image version instead of latest, list available versions first:

   az vm image list \
     --publisher Canonical --offer ubuntu-24_04-lts \
     --sku server --all -o table
   
5. Create Azure Bastion

   Azure Bastion gives managed SSH access without exposing a public IP on the VM. The Standard SKU with tunneling enabled is required for CLI-based az network bastion ssh.

   az network public-ip create \
     -g "${RG}" -n "${BASTION_PIP_NAME}" -l "${LOCATION}" \
     --sku Standard --allocation-method Static
   
   az network bastion create \
     -g "${RG}" -n "${BASTION_NAME}" -l "${LOCATION}" \
     --vnet-name "${VNET_NAME}" \
     --public-ip-address "${BASTION_PIP_NAME}" \
     --sku Standard --enable-tunneling true
   

   Bastion provisioning typically takes 5-10 minutes, but can take up to 15-30 minutes in some regions.

Install OpenClaw

1. SSH into the VM through Azure Bastion

   VM_ID="$(az vm show -g "${RG}" -n "${VM_NAME}" --query id -o tsv)"
   
   az network bastion ssh \
     --name "${BASTION_NAME}" \
     --resource-group "${RG}" \
     --target-resource-id "${VM_ID}" \
     --auth-type ssh-key \
     --username "${ADMIN_USERNAME}" \
     --ssh-key ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
   
2. Install OpenClaw (in the VM shell)

   curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh -o /tmp/install.sh
   bash /tmp/install.sh
   rm -f /tmp/install.sh
   

   The installer installs Node and dependencies if not already present, installs OpenClaw, and launches onboarding. See Install for details.

3. Verify the gateway

   After onboarding completes:

   openclaw gateway status
   

   If your organization already has GitHub Copilot licenses, you can choose the GitHub Copilot provider during onboarding instead of a separate model API key. See GitHub Copilot provider.

Cost considerations

Approximate monthly costs (verify current pricing in the Azure Pricing Calculator, since rates vary by region and change over time):

• Azure Bastion Standard SKU: roughly $140/month
• VM (Standard_B2as_v2): roughly $55/month

To reduce costs:

• Deallocate the VM when not in use. This stops compute billing (disk charges remain). The gateway is unreachable while deallocated.

  az vm deallocate -g "${RG}" -n "${VM_NAME}"
  az vm start -g "${RG}" -n "${VM_NAME}"   # restart later
  

• Delete Bastion when not needed and recreate it when you need SSH access again; it is the largest cost component and provisions in a few minutes.

• Use the Basic Bastion SKU (roughly $38/month) if you only need Portal-based SSH and do not need CLI tunneling (az network bastion ssh).

Cleanup

Delete all resources created by this guide:

az group delete -n "${RG}" --yes --no-wait

This removes the resource group and everything inside it (VM, VNet, NSG, Bastion, public IP).

Next steps

• Set up messaging channels: Channels
• Pair local devices as nodes: Nodes
• Configure the gateway: Gateway configuration
• More detail on Azure deployment with the GitHub Copilot model provider: OpenClaw on Azure with GitHub Copilot

Related

• Install overview
• GCP
• DigitalOcean