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Azure

docs/install/azure.md

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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

<Steps> <Step title="Sign in to Azure CLI"> ```bash az login az extension add -n ssh ```
The `ssh` extension is required for Azure Bastion native SSH tunneling.
</Step> <Step title="Register required resource providers (one time)"> ```bash az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Compute az provider register --namespace Microsoft.Network ```
Verify registration; wait until both show `Registered`.

```bash
az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Compute --query registrationState -o tsv
az provider show --namespace Microsoft.Network --query registrationState -o tsv
```
</Step> <Step title="Set deployment variables"> ```bash 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`.
</Step> <Step title="Select an SSH key"> Use your existing public key if you have one:
```bash
SSH_PUB_KEY="$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)"
```

Otherwise, generate one:

```bash
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -a 100 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -C "[email protected]"
SSH_PUB_KEY="$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)"
```
</Step> <Step title="Select VM size and OS disk size"> ```bash 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:

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

Check your current vCPU and disk usage/quota:

```bash
az vm list-usage --location "${LOCATION}" -o table
```
</Step> </Steps>

Deploy Azure resources

<Steps> <Step title="Create the resource group"> ```bash az group create -n "${RG}" -l "${LOCATION}" ``` </Step> <Step title="Create the network security group"> Create the NSG and add rules so only the Bastion subnet can SSH into the VM.
```bash
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.
</Step> <Step title="Create the virtual network and subnets"> Create the VNet with the VM subnet (NSG attached), then add the Bastion subnet.
```bash
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 "${BASTION_SUBNET_PREFIX}"
```
</Step> <Step title="Create the VM"> The VM gets no public IP. SSH access goes exclusively through Azure Bastion.
```bash
az vm create \
  -g "${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:

```bash
az vm image list \
  --publisher Canonical --offer ubuntu-24_04-lts \
  --sku server --all -o table
```
</Step> <Step title="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`.
```bash
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.
</Step> </Steps>

Install OpenClaw

<Steps> <Step title="SSH into the VM through Azure Bastion"> ```bash 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
```
</Step> <Step title="Install OpenClaw (in the VM shell)"> ```bash 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](/install) for details.
</Step> <Step title="Verify the gateway"> After onboarding completes:
```bash
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](/providers/github-copilot).
</Step> </Steps>

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.

    bash
    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:

bash
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