# sshuttle/sshuttle

Transparent proxy server that works as a poor man's VPN.  Forwards over ssh.  Doesn't require admin.  Works with Linux and MacOS.  Supports DNS tunneling.

Repository: https://github.com/sshuttle/sshuttle
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/sshuttle
Language: Python
License: LGPL-2.1
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2026-08-24T23:30:46+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 79/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 42, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4370, "days_push": 9, "days_rel": 388, "gap_med": 29, "n_releases_24m": 4}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 13530, forks 795 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:03.464422+00:00)

## What it is
sshuttle is a transparent proxy server that works as a poor man's VPN, forwarding traffic over SSH without requiring admin access on the remote network. It supports DNS tunneling and runs on Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, and Windows.

## Use cases
- access a remote network over ssh without a real VPN
- route all local traffic through a remote ssh server
- tunnel DNS requests through ssh
- avoid setting up ssh port forwards for every host and port
- connect to a remote network without admin privileges
- replace complex VPN setups like IPsec or PPTP

## When to choose
- you have ssh access to a remote network but no VPN or admin rights
- you want transparent subnet routing over ssh without per-port forwards
- you need a lightweight VPN alternative on Linux or macOS

## When to avoid
- you need a full production VPN with strong encryption and multi-user management
- you cannot use ssh to reach the remote network
- you need high-throughput tunneling where TCP-over-TCP overhead matters

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: stable
- function: proxy, vpn, networking, security
- domain: networking, security, privacy, developer-tools
- platform: windows, bsd, python, cli
- tags: transparent-proxy, ssh-tunneling, poor-mans-vpn, dns-tunneling, port-forwarding, command-line, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- sshuttle/sshuttle (main) score 79

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:03.464422+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:13:14.522667+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/sshuttle/sshuttle (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:03.464422+00:00, sha d1ad8fd9ea2b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.