The Proton VPN Linux client is now available in beta

VPN
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Hey everybody,

We’re happy to announce that our Proton VPN Linux alpha client will transition to an official public beta!

Anyone who has the beta repository installed will be able also to install the beta client either by:

→ updating the protonvpn package

→ installing the new meta-package proton-vpn-gnome-desktop: see https://protonvpn.com/support/linux-prerelease/

This update supports the following features:

  • Protocols: OpenVPN-UDP and OpenVPN-TCP
  • VPN Accelerator
  • Moderate NAT
  • NetShield Ad-blocker
  • Kill switch
  • Port forwarding
  • Auto connect at app startup
  • Pin servers to tray

Many more features will come to this new and improved client, but right now the focus is on stability.

That’s why we need your help to test this further and improve it. We’re also working on releasing our code on a public platform so that you can review it, help improve it, or even create your own packages.

As always, we’re grateful for your continuous support!

Alexandru / Linux Client @ Proton VPN

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Great! Looking forward for the day that Wireguard support (hopefully) comes to Linux!

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Is there any chance of providing a distro-agnostic version?
Using openSUSE Tumbleweed here: old Linux client never worked, and this one can’t be installed because it depends on distro packaging.

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v1.12.0 (library: v3.16.0 / api-client: v0.7.1)

Works fine for me. Linux mint 20.3

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I picked a really unlucky time to switch to Endeavour, lol. I’ve been pretty grumpy with the slow Linux support in the past, but I’m very happy to see progress being made. Looking forward to the upcoming developments. Cheers.

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I just installed this new beta client, here are my quick observations.

The program starts up and connects considerably faster than the “old” client. It’s a matter of 5 seconds after logging into your OS of choice.

Killswitch seems to work as it should.

No secure core which is a disadvantage (but considering this client is beta, I will wait).

I don’t know about others like port forwarding and Moderate NAT but I’m impressed.

Gonna test the shit out of this VPN and report every bug I encounter.

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Installed new package (not sure if it was alpha or not) but can’t login now and throwing invalid session error…

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Awesome!!! Thank you!!

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Port forwarding

Finally !

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Yyyeaahh ! Been waiting for this for long !

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What does ‘has the beta repository installed’ mean for me, a (Visionary) Archlinux user? I checked the AUR repository and it has not been updated.

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I really wish there was a flatpak snap or appimage so they can be more distro friendly

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Hurray for the killswitch! With these new features implemented I can now say that Proton is outright a better service than my old provider. I’m so glad I switched.

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Following your instructions, I’m actually not sure I’m running the beta app.

On my Fedora 37 KDE, I installed protonvpn-beta-release-1.0.1-2.noarch.rpm and then installed the protonvpn package. The “new meta-package” (the beta one?) proton-vpn-gnome-desktop is not found/available by dnf.

Am I running the beta app ? The version today 2023-09-14 is v1.11.0 (library: v3.14.0 / api-client: v0.7.1)

If yes, the forwarded port is not displayed anywhere in the app and there is no Report an issue menu entry. What would be the next best way to report issues about this beta app ?

Thank you

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Are there plans to support split tunneling in-app or through a provided command line utility?

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Started using the new beta on Linux Mint 21.2, seems to work well.

It would be nice to see the interface setup more like the Windows app. They’ve done it with the ProtonMail Bridge app, I see no reason they can’t do it with the ProtonVPN app

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Awesome! i’m looking forward to all the new feature’s!!

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looking forward to Port forwarding ,kill switch , netshield and Moderate NAT !!! finally :slight_smile:

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So, My Insights. Fedora 38 User :

The Stable is bulky in terms of UI and memory usage which is addressed. The Minimal UI along with Fixed memory usage within ~200MB is a great improvement not exceeding the limit.

Things I miss is, In the stable app, It has a permanent Kill Switch. Expecting it to be available in the new one too.

A Major Issue :

I don’t know why sometimes when connecting to a server on System boot. It asks for the OpenVPN password with a dialog from KDE1 Policy agent. When I cancel, it says Unknown reason occured in stable.

Like What ?

This is in both stable and Beta. In the stable, As I had Permanent kill switch. I will wait for sometime and reconnect. But here, I can’t cancel the connection. It keeps prompting me for OpenVPN password. So, I had to quit the app and restart my system to connect properly.

This happens not annoyingly everytime while connecting but it does at times.

I hope it gets addressed. Meanwhile switching back to stable. It would be a better choice if the teams also provides a KDE version of the app.

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Does this one reduces RAM usage ?