How to install the Proton VPN CLI on Debian and Ubuntu

Our Linux CLI (command-line utility) officially supports the latest stable Debian and Ubuntu versions running the GNOME desktop environment. It should also work with most distributions based on Debian and Ubuntu (not Ubuntu Server or Raspbian), but these are not officially supported.

You can install both the official Proton VPN Linux GUI app and the Linux CLI, but you can’t run them both at the same time.

• Other ways to use Proton VPN on Linux
• How to use the Linux CLI

This guide covers:

• How to install the CLI
• How to verify the CLI
• How to uninstall the CLI
• How to disable the kill switch if you have uninstalled the app
• How to install our beta Linux CLI

How to install the app

Open a terminal window and run:

#Download the package that contains the repository configuration and keys required to install the Proton VPN app.

wget https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-all/protonvpn-stable-release_1.0.8_all.deb

#Install the Proton VPN repository containing the app

sudo dpkg -i ./protonvpn-stable-release_1.0.8_all.deb && sudo apt update

#Install the app
sudo apt install proton-vpn-cli

How to verify the app

To check the repo package’s integrity, verify its checksum with the following command:

echo "0b14e71586b22e498eb20926c48c7b434b751149b1f2af9902ef1cfe6b03e180 protonvpn-stable-release_1.0.8_all.deb" | sha256sum --check -

Please don’t try  to check the GPG signature of the release package itself (dpkg-sig –verify). Our internal release process is split into several parts; the release package is signed with a GPG key, and the repo is signed with another GPG key. So the keys don’t match.

How to uninstall the app

Run:

sudo apt purge protonvpn-stable-release

How to disable the kill switch if you have uninstalled the app

You can easily turn off the kill switch using the following command:

protonvpn config set kill-switch off

However, this isn’t possible if you’ve already uninstalled Proton VPN CLI. In this case, you can remove the kill switch and restore access to the internet as follows:

1. Identify the Proton VPN connection name with the command:

nmcli connection show --active

This will show a list of your system’s active connections.

2. Look for any connections that begin with prefix pvpn- This usually includes pvpn-killswitch and pvpn-ipv6leak-protection, and may include pvpn-routed-killswitch. Delete all these connections using the following command:

nmcli connection delete [connection name]

For example:

nmcli connection delete pvpn-killswitch

3. Re-run the following command to check that all Proton VPN connections have been removed:

nmcli connection show --active

If you see any Proton VPN connections left, delete them using the command described above.

How to use our beta Linux CLI

The beta version of our Linux app gives you access to new features before they are released publicly, but it is still in development. By using the beta version and sharing your feedback, you can help us find and address bugs. 

To do this, open a terminal window and run:

wget https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-all/protonvpn-beta-release_1.0.8_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i ./protonvpn-beta-release_1.0.8_all.deb && sudo apt update
sudo apt install proton-vpn-cli

To check the repo package’s integrity, run:

echo "0f3c88b11aae384d76fc63547c4fbea1161c2aef376fb4b73d32786cbf9fa019" protonvpn-beta-release_1.0.8_all.deb | sha256sum --check -

To uninstall the beta Linux app, run:

sudo apt purge protonvpn-beta-release

A warning about using pip and PyPI