Gateway Deployment

Complete guide to deploying Infisical Gateways including network configuration and firewall requirements

Infisical Gateways enables secure communication between your private resources and the Infisical platform without exposing inbound ports in your network. This guide covers everything you need to deploy and configure Infisical Gateways.

Deployment Steps

1. Set Up a Relay Server

   Ensure a relay server is running and accessible before you deploy any gateways. You have two options:

   • Managed relay (Infisical Cloud, US/EU only): If you are using Infisical Cloud in the US or EU regions, you can use the provided managed relay.
   • Self-hosted relay: For all other cases, you must deploy your own relay server. See the Relay Deployment Guide.
2. Create the Gateway in the UI

   1. Navigate to Organization Settings > Networking > Gateways.
   2. Click Create Gateway.
   3. Enter a name for the gateway.
   4. (Optional) Open the new gateway’s detail page and click the edit icon next to Authentication to switch the auth method. Two methods are supported:
      • Token (default): a one-time enrollment token (1h expiry) bootstraps the gateway.
      • AWS: the gateway authenticates by signing an sts:GetCallerIdentity request with whatever AWS credentials it can resolve on the host (instance role, env vars, shared profile). Configure the allowed principal ARNs and/or account IDs that match your hosts.
   5. Click Show deploy command in the Deployment card. Pick a relay (or “Auto Select Relay”) and copy the generated CLI command.
3. Install the Infisical CLI

   Make sure the Infisical CLI is installed on the target machine. See the CLI Installation Guide for instructions.

4. Configure Network & Firewall

   Ensure your network and firewall settings allow the gateway to connect to all required services. All connections are outbound only; no inbound ports need to be opened.

   Protocol	Destination	Port	Purpose
   TCP	Relay Server IP/Hostname	2222	SSH reverse tunnel establishment
   TCP	Infisical instance host (US/EU, other)	443	API communication and certificate requests

   For managed relays, allow outbound traffic to the provided relay server IP/hostname. For self-hosted relays, allow outbound traffic to your own relay server address.

   If you are in a corporate environment with strict egress filtering, ensure outbound TCP 2222 to relay servers and outbound HTTPS 443 to Infisical API endpoints are allowed.

5. Run the CLI Command

   Run the command you copied from the UI on the target machine. This single command enrolls the gateway and starts it immediately.

   Token Auth

   A one-time enrollment token (1h expiry) bootstraps the gateway.

   Linux (Production)

   sudo infisical gateway systemd install <gateway-name> \
     --enroll-method=token \
     --token=<enrollment-token> \
     --domain=<your-infisical-domain>
   sudo systemctl start infisical-gateway
   

   Foreground

   infisical gateway start <gateway-name> \
     --enroll-method=token \
     --token=<enrollment-token> \
     --domain=<your-infisical-domain>
   

   AWS Auth

   The host must have AWS credentials whose principal matches your allowlist. The gateway re-authenticates via STS on every start.

   Linux (Production)

   sudo infisical gateway systemd install <gateway-name> \
     --enroll-method=aws \
     --gateway-id=<gateway-id> \
     --domain=<your-infisical-domain>
   sudo systemctl start infisical-gateway
   

   Foreground

   infisical gateway start <gateway-name> \
     --enroll-method=aws \
     --gateway-id=<gateway-id> \
     --domain=<your-infisical-domain>
   

   The systemd install command requires Linux with root/sudo privileges.

   Token-method enrollment tokens are single-use and expire after 1 hour. If the token expires before deployment, click Show deploy command again on the detail page to generate a new one.

   You can safely re-run the same command to restart the gateway. The CLI detects the token has already been used locally and skips enrollment automatically.

6. Verify Your Gateway Deployment

   After deployment, verify your gateway is working:

   1. Check logs for “Gateway started successfully” message.
   2. Verify registration in the Infisical UI. Navigate to Networking > Gateways and confirm the gateway shows a “Healthy” status.
   3. Test connectivity by creating a resource that uses the gateway to access a private service.

Managing a gateway

From the gateway’s detail page (click the gateway row in the list):

• Show deploy command — Generates a fresh enrollment token (token method) or re-displays the AWS start command. Clicking this on a token-method gateway does not disconnect the running gateway; the next login with the new token rotates credentials atomically.
• Edit auth method — Switch between Token and AWS, or update the AWS allowlists. Existing gateways keep their JWT until they restart and re-authenticate.
• Options → Revoke Access — Disconnects the running gateway and invalidates outstanding enrollment tokens. The gateway must re-authenticate to reconnect. Gated by the dedicated revoke-gateway-access permission, separate from edit-gateways.
• Options → Delete Gateway — Permanently removes the gateway.

To migrate a gateway to a different host with zero downtime: click Show deploy command to generate a fresh token, run it on the new host, and the new login will rotate credentials away from the old host.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to open any inbound ports on my firewall?

No inbound ports need to be opened for gateways. The gateway only makes outbound connections:

• Outbound SSH to relay servers on port 2222
• Outbound HTTPS to Infisical API endpoints on port 443
• SSH reverse tunnels handle all communication - no return traffic configuration needed

This design maintains security by avoiding the need for inbound firewall rules that could expose your network to external threats.

How do I test network connectivity from the gateway?

Test relay connectivity and outbound API access from the gateway:

1. Test SSH port to relay:

nc -zv <relay-ip> 2222

2. Test outbound API access (replace with your Infisical domain if different):

curl -I https://app.infisical.com

How do I troubleshoot relay connectivity issues?

If the gateway cannot connect to the relay:

1. Verify the relay server is running and accessible
2. Check firewall rules allow outbound connections on port 2222
3. Confirm the relay name matches exactly
4. Test SSH port to relay:

nc -zv <relay-ip> 2222

How do I troubleshoot authentication failures?

For token method: ensure the enrollment token has not expired or already been used. Open the gateway’s detail page and click Show deploy command to generate a fresh token.

For AWS method: ensure the host has AWS credentials available (instance role, env vars, or shared profile) and the resolved principal/account is in the allowlist on the gateway’s detail page.

Where can I find gateway logs?

Check gateway logs for detailed error information:

• systemd service:
  sudo journalctl -u infisical-gateway -f
  
• Local installation: Logs appear in the terminal where you started the gateway

What happens if my enrollment token expires?

Enrollment tokens expire after 1 hour. If the token expires before deployment, open the gateway’s detail page and click Show deploy command to generate a new one.

Where are gateway credentials stored?

For token-method gateways, the access token and domain are saved to a config file scoped by gateway name:

• Running as root/sudo: /etc/infisical/gateways/<name>.conf
• Running as a regular user: ~/.infisical/gateways/<name>.conf

For AWS-method gateways, no JWT is persisted to disk. The gateway re-authenticates by signing a fresh STS request on every start using the host’s AWS credentials. Only the gateway id and domain are stored locally.

For systemd-based installations, the configuration is at /etc/infisical/gateway.conf. All config files are created with restricted permissions (0600).

Can I run multiple gateways on the same machine?

Yes. Each gateway stores its credentials in a separate config file scoped by name (e.g., ~/.infisical/gateways/my-gateway.conf). You can enroll and start multiple gateways in separate terminal sessions using different names.

What happens if there is a network interruption?

The gateway is designed to handle network interruptions gracefully:

• Automatic reconnection: The gateway will automatically attempt to reconnect to relay servers if the SSH connection is lost
• Connection retry logic: Built-in retry mechanisms handle temporary network outages without manual intervention
• Persistent SSH tunnels: SSH connections are automatically re-established when connectivity is restored
• Certificate rotation: The gateway handles certificate renewal automatically during reconnection
• Graceful degradation: The gateway logs connection issues and continues attempting to restore connectivity

No manual intervention is typically required during network interruptions.