Install ForestVPN on OpenWrt without fvpn.net
Get ForestVPN onto an OpenWrt router when fvpn.net does not load, from the S3 mirror or an offline bundle once the install page lists it.
Updated October 9, 2026
Not yet verified on hardware as a whole. The offline bundle installer was run in a lab on OpenWrt 24.10.8 and 25.12.5. This page is about getting the files onto the router. It does not say whether ForestVPN works on your network.
The install page lists the files that are published today and nothing else. If it does not list an offline bundle for your processor type, that bundle is not available yet, and this page cannot help you until it is.
What you get
ForestVPN installed on a router that cannot reach routers.fvpn.net, using the same files and the same checks as the normal install.
Before you start
- Device: an OpenWrt router with a Target Platform that the install page lists, and a computer that can reach either the mirror or the offline bundle.
- Firmware: OpenWrt 21.02 or newer.
- Access: the router's administrator password and a terminal on it.
- Time: fifteen minutes.
- What can break: the offline installer does not download anything, so the tunnel device must already be on the router. The installer says so if it is not, and changes nothing.
Steps
-
Try the mirror first. If routers.fvpn.net does not load from your network, the same files are on an S3 mirror linked from the install page. The mirror address is path-style on purpose: from some networks the fvpn.net names stall and S3 does not. Use the install file or the one command from there, as in install ForestVPN on OpenWrt.
-
If the router itself cannot reach either, download the offline bundle for your router's processor type on a computer that can, together with its SHA-256 from the install page. One archive per processor type, named forestvpn-offline followed by the architecture. Compare its SHA-256 with the one on the install page before you copy it to the router: the SHA256SUMS inside the archive only shows that the files are not damaged, not that they came from ForestVPN, and the installer adds ForestVPN's signing key to your router.
Prints the SHA-256 to compare with the install page (macOS and Linux)
shasum -a 256 forestvpn-offline-ARCH.tar.gz -
Copy the archive to the router. The -O flag is needed when the router has no sftp server, which is usual on OpenWrt.
Copies the bundle to the router's temporary folder
scp -O forestvpn-offline-ARCH.tar.gz root@ROUTER:/tmp/ -
On the router, unpack it and change into the folder it made, which holds install-offline.sh and SHA256SUMS.
Unpacks the bundle
tar -xzf /tmp/forestvpn-offline-ARCH.tar.gz -C /tmp -
Run the installer as root from that folder. It checks every file against SHA256SUMS first, adds ForestVPN's key and software source, then installs the package that matches your package manager from the file. On OpenWrt 25.12 the package is checked against ForestVPN's key before it is installed. No check is ever switched off.
Installs ForestVPN from the files in this folder
sh install-offline.sh
Check it worked
The installer ends with "ForestVPN is installed. Open Services > ForestVPN on your router's page to finish the setup." Services > ForestVPN exists. When the router is online later, updates come from ForestVPN's software source and are checked by opkg or apk.
Undo it
Remove the package as for any install.
Removes ForestVPN
if command -v apk >/dev/null; then apk del forestvpn; else opkg remove forestvpn; fiIf something is wrong
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "a file in this folder is damaged" | A file differs from SHA256SUMS | Nothing was installed. Download the bundle again and compare its SHA-256 with the install page. |
| "this folder has no .ipk package" or "no .apk package" | The bundle is for the other package manager, or the wrong folder | Use the bundle for your architecture, from the folder install-offline.sh is in. |
| The installer says the tunnel device is missing | The firmware has no tunnel module, and an offline router cannot fetch one | Connect the router to the internet once so the package manager can fetch the module, or use firmware that includes it. |
| scp fails with a protocol error | The router has no sftp server | Add -O to scp, as in step 3. |
Limits
- Offline means no download: the bundle holds the same package files the software source serves, the keys that sign it and its address.
- Updates from the software source need the router to reach it later. Until then it stays on the bundle's version.
- This page is a technical route for getting files across. It makes no claim about reaching ForestVPN's servers from any network.