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

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

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
```

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

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

Otherwise, generate one:

```bash
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -a 100 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
SSH_PUB_KEY="$(cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub)"
```

- 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
```

Deploy Azure resources

```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.

```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}"
```

```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
```

```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.

Install OpenClaw

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
```

The installer installs Node and dependencies if not already present, installs OpenClaw, and launches onboarding. See [Install](/install) for details.

```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).

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

Source: docs/install/azure.md