If you want to watch your Jellyfin movies on a hotel TV or check your Nextcloud files from a coffee shop, you need remote access. WireGuard is the fastest, safest way to access your home server from anywhere in the world.
Overview
Instead of exposing your apps directly to the public internet (which is dangerous and invites hackers), WireGuard creates a single, heavily encrypted "tunnel" through your router. When your phone connects to this tunnel, it acts exactly as if you were sitting on your living room couch connected to your home Wi-Fi.
Step 1: Setting up Port Forwarding
For the tunnel to work, your home router must be told to let WireGuard traffic through the front door. This requires you to log into your internet router.
Find your LocalNode's IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.50).
Log into your home router's admin panel (usually 192.168.1.1 or 10.0.0.1).
Look for a menu called Port Forwarding, Virtual Servers, or NAT/Gaming.
Create a new rule:
Service Name: WireGuard
Internal IP: Your LocalNode's IP address (192.168.1.50)
External Port: 51820
Internal Port: 51820
Protocol: UDP (This is critical. WireGuard uses UDP, not TCP).
Save the rule.
⚠️ Warning: Do not forward port 80 or 443 unless you are setting up Nginx Proxy Manager. Forwarding only port 51820 keeps your server completely invisible to internet scanners.
Step 2: Accessing the WireGuard dashboard
Go to your LocalNode dashboard at http://localnode.local.
Click on the WireGuard app icon.
Log in with your administrator username and password.
You are now looking at the WireGuard UI (specifically wg-easy), which makes managing VPN connections incredibly simple.
WireGuard logo from wireguard.com; refer to project repositories for component licenses. Official clients vary by OS—follow those docs for tunnel keys and DNS fields.
Step 3: Creating a new client profile
Every device (your phone, your laptop, your spouse's phone) needs its own unique key. You cannot share keys between devices.
Click the red + New Client button in the top right.
Enter a name for the device (e.g., "Davids-iPhone").
Click Create.
You will now see a new tile for "Davids-iPhone".
Click the QR Code icon on the tile. A large QR code will appear on your computer screen. Leave this open.
💡 Tip: Before connecting your phone, verify your public IP address hasn't changed. If your internet provider gives you a dynamic IP (most do), you will eventually need to set up Dynamic DNS (DuckDNS) so WireGuard can always find your house.
