Support Center / Download and setup / How to install Proton VPN on Ubuntu

How to install Proton VPN on Ubuntu

Our app officially supports the latest stable Ubuntu LTS version. It should work on most distributions based on Ubuntu, but we haven’t tested them and therefore do not officially support them.

To install the app, open a terminal window and:

1. Download the repository configuration and keys required to install the Proton VPN app. Enter:

wget https://repo2.protonvpn.com/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-all/protonvpn-stable-release_1.0.3-3_all.deb

2. Install the Proton VPN repository containing the new app. Enter:

sudo dpkg -i ./protonvpn-stable-release_1.0.3-3_all.deb && sudo apt update

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

If you want to check the repo package integrity, you can check its checksum with the following command:

echo "de7ef83a663049b5244736d3eabaacec003eb294a4d6024a8fbe0394f22cc4e5  protonvpn-stable-release_1.0.3-3_all.deb" | sha256sum --check -

3. If you’re running the old (v3) Proton VPN app or CLI (stable or beta versions), simply run:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

If you don’t have Proton VPN installed, run:

sudo apt install proton-vpn-gnome-desktop

To check for updates and ensure that you’re running the latest version of the app, enter:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Linux system tray icon (optional)

The Linux system tray icon

By default, the GNOME desktop doesn’t support tray icons. To enable this functionality on Debian-based distributions:

1. Run:

sudo apt install libayatana-appindicator3-1 gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1 gnome-shell-extension-appindicator

2. Restart the Proton VPN app (if it was already running). To do this, click VQuit and open the app again.

How to Quit the Linux app

You can now connect to the internet privately and securely using Proton VPN.

Notes

1. How to remove the official Linux app

To uninstall the Linux app, open a terminal and enter:

sudo apt autoremove proton-vpn-gnome-desktop && sudo apt purge protonvpn-stable-release

2. How to remove the old (v3) Proton VPN app

To uninstall our old (v3) Linux app, open a terminal and enter:

sudo apt-get autoremove protonvpn

Remove any leftover files:

rm -rf ~/.cache/protonvpn

And

rm -rf ~/.config/protonvpn

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

You can easily turn off the kill switch inside our Linux app, but this isn’t possible if you’ve already uninstalled it. In this case, you can remove the kill switch and restore access to the internet as follows:

a) Identify the Proton VPN connection name with the command:

nmcli connection show --active

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

b) 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

c) 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 as described above.

4. Required dependencies

Most distros have one of these dependencies installed, so usually no further action is needed. If neither dependency is installed on your system, you will need to install one of them for the Proton VPN app to work: 

  • KWallet
  • Gnome-keyring

Note that we don’t recommend installing both of them, as conflicts may occur. Also required is:

  • Systemd

But again, on most Linux distributions, this is pre-installed.

5. Try out our beta Linux app

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. 

Important: You cannot upgrade from the beta version of our Linux app to the stable version. You will need to uninstall the beta app and then install the official app. Similarly, if you are using the stable version of our Linux VPN app, you should uninstall it before installing the early beta version. 

If you would like to install the beta version instead of the stable release of this app, open a terminal window and:

1. Download the beta package. Enter:

wget https://repo.protonvpn.com/debian/dists/unstable/main/binary-all/protonvpn-beta-release_1.0.3-3_all.deb

2. Install the Proton VPN beta repository containing the new app. Run:

sudo dpkg -i ./protonvpn-beta-release_1.0.3-3_all.deb && sudo apt update

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

If you want to check the repo package integrity, you can check its checksum with the following command:

echo "13718f52652af43a2cf4ada698182388f67a5cac8f00b089c352856916b2b67f  protonvpn-beta-release_1.0.3-3_all.deb" | sha256sum --check -

3. If you’re running the old (v3) Proton VPN app or CLI (stable or beta versions), simply run:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

If you don’t have Proton VPN installed, run:

sudo apt install proton-vpn-gnome-desktop

To check for updates and ensure that you’re running the latest version of the app, enter:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

How to remove the beta Linux app

To uninstall the new Linux app, open a terminal and enter:

sudo apt purge "protonvpn*" proton-vpn-gnome-desktop && sudo apt autoremove

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