The ForestVPN command line
The same core as the apps, packaged as a daemon and a command line for a machine with no desktop.
Get it
# /etc/apt/sources.list.d/forestvpn.sources
Types: deb
URIs: https://apt.fvpn.net
Suites: stable
Components: main
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/forestvpn-archive-keyring.gpg
apt update && apt install forestvpn-quantumRequirements
- Install
- The package is forestvpn-quantum, installing /usr/bin/fv and the systemd units that run it.
- Distributions
- Debian and Ubuntu through the apt repository, amd64 and arm64.
- Who it is for
- Servers, mini-PCs and any Linux machine with no graphical session.
Install
forestvpn-quantum — the same core, packaged for a machine with no App Store. It installs /usr/bin/fv: a daemon and a CLI, with no graphical front end.
- 01
Add the repository
apt.fvpn.net — signed with the same archive key every exit node trusts. apt refuses an unsigned repo, which is the point.
- 02
Install the package
apt install forestvpn-quantum pulls fv plus the systemd units that run it.
- 03
Run it
fv run connects, fv show prints the same eight-state readout the phone gets, fv diag explains a bad one.
The repository is what buys you apt upgrade afterwards, rather than checking back for a new .deb by hand. It's the same one the exit fleet itself updates from.
First run
- 01
Connect
fv run connects.
- 02
Read the status
fv show prints the same eight-state readout the phone gets.
- 03
Explain a bad state
fv diag explains a bad one.
What works on fv
- Connect: fv run
- Connects and stays up as the daemon.
- Check the status: fv show
- Prints the connection state, one of eight, and the layer at fault.
- Diagnose a problem: fv diag
- Explains why the connection is in the state it is in.
Not in the command line: a graphical interface. For a desktop, see ForestVPN for Linux.
Updates
The repository is what buys you apt upgrade afterwards, rather than checking back for a new .deb by hand. It's the same one the exit fleet itself updates from.
Verify your download
Check the SHA-256 of what you downloaded against SHA256SUMS, and check that file against its signature SHA256SUMS.asc.
826C FFED B70C E81E 2439 9223 A9D7 CDF8 40F6 A71CUninstall
Run sudo apt remove forestvpn-quantum. This removes the service.
Questions
- Can I run it next to the desktop app?
- Installing both is fine. Do not run a tunnel with both at once: they hold the same tunnel device and firewall tables.
- How do I update it?
- Through apt: run `sudo apt upgrade`. The repository is the one the exit fleet itself updates from.
- Which systems is it for?
- Linux. It is packaged for Debian and Ubuntu through the apt repository.