Overview
SimpleSSHTunnel is an SSH tunneling plugin for Unreal Engine. It provides local port forwarding to access remote services.
The plugin uses libssh2 for SSH and OpenSSL for encryption, with Blueprint nodes to manage tunnel connections.
Background and goals
Launching a system SSH client from UE requires additional handling for executable paths, process management, and platform differences.
SimpleSSHTunnel wraps these connection operations in the plugin so projects can call them from Blueprints.
Core capabilities
SSH connection interfaces
The plugin establishes SSH tunnels without requiring projects to write libssh2 session operations directly. Connections require an accessible SSH service and appropriate authentication information.
Port forwarding
The SSH tunnel forwards connections received on a local port to a remote service port. Forwarding targets, authentication information, and network reachability depend on the deployment environment.
Blueprint calls
After configuring connection parameters in Project Settings, Blueprints can create tunnels, query their status, close a specific tunnel, or close all tunnels.
The remote service protocol and the sending, receiving, and processing of data remain the responsibility of the project’s communication and business logic.
Use cases
UE applications that access remote services in restricted networks through SSH can use this plugin to manage connections in Blueprints, then handle returned data in the project.
Scope and limitations
Windows is currently supported. Check library files and build support before porting to other platforms.
The default subsystem closes all tunnels when it is destroyed. In the target project, review SSH credential storage and usage, connection threads, error handling, and whether sessions and channels are released correctly when connections close.
See the user guide for connection configuration, Blueprint calls, and implementation details.