Tutorial for setting up GOST tunnel as relay server

This page shows you how to turn a server into a relay for your Hiddify Manager server using GOST (GO Simple Tunnel), a small open-source program that forwards ports from one server to another.

A relay server is a second server, usually inside your own country, that your users connect to. It forwards their traffic to your main Hiddify server abroad. This helps when the main server's IP is blocked or slow from your country. Read more about relay servers.

There is also a video tutorial in Persian for this method.

Why GOST instead of plain IP-Tables forwarding?

• You can point the tunnel at your main server's domain instead of its IP, so the IP does not appear in the relay's settings.
• It runs as a system service, so it starts again by itself after a reboot.
• It works with any protocol Hiddify offers (VLESS, VMess, Trojan, WebSocket, gRPC and others), because it forwards raw TCP traffic. Your proxy traffic stays encrypted by the proxy protocol itself.
• You can forward as many ports as you like, TCP or UDP.

Easier option

Hiddify Relay Builder can install GOST for you from a menu.

Prerequisites

• A main server with Hiddify Manager installed. See the installation guide.
• A relay server running Ubuntu or Debian, with SSH access as root. New to SSH? See how to connect to a server via SSH.
• A domain that points directly to your main server's IP (proxy off, not through a CDN), or just the main server's IP.

Install GOST on the relay server

1. Connect to your relay server over SSH.

2. Download GOST and unpack it:

   sudo apt install wget nano -y
   wget https://github.com/ginuerzh/gost/releases/download/v2.11.5/gost-linux-amd64-2.11.5.gz
   gunzip gost-linux-amd64-2.11.5.gz
   

   This is the build for normal x86-64 (amd64) servers. On an ARM server, use gost-linux-armv8-2.11.5.gz instead, and change the file name in the next step to match.

3. Move the program to the system folder and make it executable:

   sudo mv gost-linux-amd64-2.11.5 /usr/local/bin/gost
   sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gost
   

4. Create a service file, so GOST runs in the background and after reboots. Open the editor:

   sudo nano /usr/lib/systemd/system/gost.service
   

5. Paste this text into the editor:

   [Unit]
   Description=GO Simple Tunnel
   After=network.target
   Wants=network.target
   
   [Service]
   Type=simple
   ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/gost -L=tcp://:443/domain.com:443 -L=tcp://:80/domain.com:80
   
   [Install]
   WantedBy=multi-user.target
   

6. Replace both domain.com with your main server's direct domain (or its IP).

7. Save with Ctrl+S and exit with Ctrl+X. (In older nano versions, press Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.)

8. Start the service and make it start on every boot:

   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable --now gost
   

Check that it worked

sudo systemctl status gost

You should see active (running). Press q to leave this screen. If it says failed, check the ExecStart line for typos, fix it, and run the two commands from step 8 again.

To forward more ports, add another -L=tcp://:PORT/domain.com:PORT to the ExecStart line. For UDP, write udp:// instead of tcp://.

About GOST versions

This page uses GOST v2.11.5 from the original ginuerzh/gost project. Its last release is v2.12.0 (October 2024). The actively developed version is GOST v3 at go-gost/gost; Hiddify Relay Builder installs v3 and uses the same -L=tcp://... style of command.

Add the relay server to Hiddify Manager

1. Point a subdomain (for example relay.example.com) at the relay server's IP with an A record. On Cloudflare, keep the proxy off (grey cloud).
2. In the panel, open Domains, click Add domain, enter the subdomain and choose the mode Relay.
3. Edit your subscription domain, select the relay domain under Show configs of, then apply the changes.

For the full steps, see How to add a relay server (domain) to HiddifyManager.

Screenshots from an older panel version

Remove GOST from the relay server

Run these commands on the relay server:

sudo systemctl disable --now gost
sudo rm -f /usr/lib/systemd/system/gost.service /usr/local/bin/gost
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

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Last update: October 23, 2026

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