Frequently Asked Questions

Storm Tunnel is a native macOS app for creating secure tunnels to private AWS RDS databases and internal services through AWS Session Manager. It also supports traditional SSH tunnels for existing environments.

Storm Tunnel saves the AWS profile, region, EC2 instance, RDS endpoint, and port mapping in a visual workflow. Instead of rebuilding long Session Manager or SSH commands, you create the tunnel once and launch it with a few clicks.

You should know which AWS account, region, EC2 instance, and database endpoint you need to reach. Storm Tunnel reduces the command-line burden, but it still respects your existing AWS and network permissions.

Yes. You can download the app and evaluate Storm Tunnel before committing to a paid plan. During the beta, the Pro monthly plan includes a 14-day trial so you can test the full workflow before being charged.

Pro is the monthly subscription for teams who want full access with a lower upfront cost. Founders Lifetime is a one-time version 1 license with all Pro features, all 1.x updates, and loyalty pricing on future major upgrades.

When you subscribe to the Pro monthly plan, you get 14 days to try the full paid feature set. You won't be charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel anytime during the trial with no charge.

Yes! Your license is valid for all your personal Macs. For business/commercial use, we ask that each user has their own license.

We offer a 14-day money-back guarantee on both Pro and Founders Lifetime purchases. If you're not satisfied, email us within 14 days for a full refund.

Your data remains safe on your device. If your Pro subscription expires, your saved connections stay local, but paid features remain unavailable until you reactivate a license or subscription.

Yes! We offer volume discounts for teams of 5 or more. Please contact us at [email protected] for a custom quote and simplified billing.

AWS Session Manager lets you create sessions to EC2 instances without opening inbound SSH ports or distributing SSH keys. Storm Tunnel uses that path to forward local ports on your Mac to private RDS endpoints or internal services reachable from the EC2 instance.

Yes. Create an AWS Session Manager tunnel through an EC2 instance in the same VPC as the database, set the remote host to your RDS endpoint, and connect your database client to localhost on your Mac.

Yes. SSH remains supported for classic bastions and self-managed servers. You can fill in an SSH tunnel from the hosts in your ~/.ssh/config file.

In the AWS tunnel editor, use Check Access. Validate confirms the instance, Test Permissions checks the IAM permissions Storm Tunnel needs, and Copy IAM Policy gives you a policy to send to your AWS administrator. It works with IAM Identity Center (SSO) profiles through the AWS CLI.

Yes. Auto-Reconnect restores an established tunnel that drops, including an AWS Session Manager session that ends remotely. It tries a limited number of times and then stops with an error you can act on. Paid plans add Intelligent Auto-Retry for tunnels that fail on the first attempt.

Pro and Founders Lifetime both support unlimited concurrent tunnels. Without a paid license, one tunnel (SSH or AWS) can run at a time. The trial includes the paid feature set.

Yes for SSH servers. Storm Tunnel handles interactive prompts such as verification codes. For AWS, sign-in follows your profile, including IAM Identity Center (SSO) in the browser.

No usage analytics or tracking. Storm Tunnel stores your connection configurations locally on your Mac and never sends your SSH credentials, AWS credentials, or connection details to our servers. The app does check for updates (it sends the app version, macOS version, and system language) and contacts our licensing provider to activate a license.

All credentials and connection configurations are stored securely in your macOS Keychain and local application data. We use Apple's security frameworks to protect your sensitive information.

Absolutely not. All authentication happens directly between your Mac and your servers. Storm Tunnel never sends credentials to any third party, including us.

Yes. All SSH tunnels and AWS Session Manager connections use industry-standard encryption (SSH protocol, TLS). Storm Tunnel itself doesn't modify or intercept your encrypted traffic.

Storm Tunnel requires macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later. It is a universal app, so it runs natively on Apple Silicon and on Intel Macs.

Yes. Storm Tunnel is a universal app and runs natively on Apple Silicon.

For AWS Session Manager tunnels, install AWS CLI v2 and the Session Manager plugin and configure your AWS credentials or SSO profile. For SSH tunnels, macOS includes the SSH client by default.

Yes! Storm Tunnel works alongside your existing SSH configuration. You can continue using terminal commands while also managing tunnels through Storm Tunnel.

Currently, Storm Tunnel is exclusive to macOS. We focus on building a best-in-class native experience for the Mac ecosystem. We don't have immediate plans for other platforms.

Documentation is available to everyone. Pro and Founders Lifetime customers get priority email support with faster response times. Email us at [email protected].

For AWS tunnels, verify your AWS profile, region, Session Manager plugin, IAM permissions, EC2 instance SSM status, RDS endpoint, and local port availability. For SSH tunnels, verify credentials, host reachability, and firewall rules.

As long as your firewall allows outbound SSH connections (port 22) or AWS Session Manager traffic (port 443), Storm Tunnel will work. Some restrictive firewalls may require additional configuration.

Absolutely! We love hearing from our users. Email your feature requests to [email protected]. We prioritize based on user feedback.

Since Storm Tunnel stores data locally in your Keychain and Application Support folders, we recommend using Apple's Migration Assistant or Time Machine to transfer your data to a new Mac. Your connections and credentials will be preserved.