protonvpn-linux-gui-calexandru2018 2.0.7

Unofficial Linux GUI client for ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN Linux GUI

An unofficial Linux GUI for ProtonVPN, written in Python. Layout designed in Glade.

Protonvpn-linux-gui works on top of protonvpn-cli-ng, making it a dependency. All local configurations are managed by the GUI (such as updating protocol, split tunneling, manage killswitch) while the connections are managed by the CLI. This way, you will be able to use the latest version of the CLI, while also being able to use the GUI.

Table of Contents

• Installing and Updating
  • Dependencies
    • Python dependencies
    • ProtonVPN GUI dependencies
      • Known Issues
        • Wayland
    • ProtonVPN Tray dependencies
      • Known Issues
        • dbus-launch
  • Installing protonvpn-linux-gui
    • Distribution based
    • PIP based
      • How to Update
  • Manual installation
  • Virtual environment
• How to use
  • ProtonVPN GUI
  • ProtonVPN Tray
• Enhancements
  • Create .desktop file
    • ProtonVPN GUI
    • ProtonVPN Tray
  • Visudo/Sudoless
• Not yet implemented
• GUI Layout

Installing and Updating

Dependencies

Python dependencies

• python >= 3.5
• requests >= 2.23.0
• configparse >= 4.0.2
• pip for python3 (pip3)
• protonvpn-cli-ng >= 2.2.2
• setuptools for python3 (python3-setuptools)

ProtonVPN GUI dependencies

Distro	Command
Fedora/CentOS/RHEL	sudo dnf install -y python3-gobject gtk3
Ubuntu/Linux Mint/Debian and derivatives	sudo apt install -y python3-gi python3-gi-cairo gir1.2-gtk-3.0
OpenSUSE/SLES	sudo zypper install python3-gobject python3-gobject-Gdk typelib-1_0-Gtk-3_0 libgtk-3-0
Arch Linux/Manjaro	sudo pacman -S python-gobject gtk3

GUI Known issues:

Wayland

While this works well on X11, there are certain restrictions on Wayland since it does not allow GUIs to be launched as root. The way the GUI works at the moment is that it accesses much of the content that the CLI protects with sudo, thus starting with sudo lowers the UX friction, though this is subject to change. More info here and here.

Workaround is provied:

1. Install xhost or x11-xserver-utils
2. Type in terminal xhost si:localuser:root
3. Type in terminal sudo protonvpn-gui

ProtonVPN Tray dependencies

Distro	Command
Fedora/CentOS/RHEL	sudo dnf install -y libappindicator-gtk3
Ubuntu/Linux Mint/Debian and derivatives	sudo apt install -y gir1.2-appindicator3
OpenSUSE/SLES	sudo zypper install libappindicator-gtk3
Arch Linux/Manjaro	sudo pacman -S libappindicator-gtk3

NOTE: Gnome users will to install and additional extension for this to work: KStatusNotifierItem/AppIndicator Support

Tray Known issues:

dbus-launch

There is a known issue when user attempts to start the systray/appindicator. This might throw an error that is simillar to this one: (<app-name>:<pid>) LIBDBUSMENU-GLIB-WARNING **: Unable to get session bus: Failed to execute child process "dbus-launch" (No such file or directory) if a user does not have a specific package installed. If you are unable to use the systray/appindicator and have a simillar error then a solution is provided below.

Solution: Install dbus-x11 package for your distribution, more information can be found on this stackoverflow post.

Installing ProtonVPN Linux GUI

Distribution based

• Fedora/CentOS/RHEL: To-do
• Ubuntu derivatives: To-do
• OpenSUSE/SLES: To-do
• Arch Linux/Manjaro: Available at AUR

PIP based

Note: Make sure to run pip with sudo

sudo pip3 install protonvpn-linux-gui-calexandru2018

To update to a new version

sudo pip3 install protonvpn-linux-gui-calexandru2018 --upgrade

Manual Installation

1. Clone this repository

   git clone https://github.com/calexandru2018/protonvpn-linux-gui

2. Step into the directory

   cd protonvpn-linux-gui

3. Install

   sudo python3 setup.py install

Virtual environment

If you would like to run the the GUI within a virtual environment (for either development purpose or other), then you can easily do that with the help of pipenv. Make sure to install pipenv beforehand following the next steps.

1. git clone https://github.com/calexandru2018/protonvpn-linux-gui
2. cd protonvpn-linux-gui
3. pipenv install installs the virtual environment and all necessary dependencies from Pipfile.
4. pipenv shell enters the virtual environment.
5. sudo pip install -e . installs the GUI in your virtual environment.
6. sudo protonvpn-gui starts the GUI from within the virtual environment.

How to use

ProtonVPN GUI

sudo protonvpn-gui

ProtonVPN Tray

protonvpn-tray

Enhancements

Create .desktop file

ProtonVPN GUI

To create at desktop launcher with a .desktop file, follow the instrucitons below.

1. Find the path to the package with pip3 show protonvpn-linux-gui-calexandru2018

   You should get something like Location: /usr/local/lib/<YOUR_PYTHON_VERSION>/dist-packages , this is where your Python packages reside. Note: Based on your distro, your Location path may not look exactly like this one, so make sure to use your own and Location path.

2. Based on previous information, the path to your icon should be <PATH_DISPLAYED_IN_STEP_1>/protonvpn_linux_gui/resources/img/logo/protonvpn_logo.png

3. Create a protonvpn-gui.desktop file in .local/share/applications/, and paste in the following code. Remember to change the Icon path to your own path.

   [Desktop Entry]
   Name=ProtonVPN GUI
   GenericName=Unofficial ProtonVPN GUI for Linux
   Exec=sudo protonvpn-gui
   Icon=<YOUR_ICON_PATH>
   Type=Application
   Terminal=False
   Categories=Utility;GUI;Network;VPN
   

ProtonVPN Tray

To create at tray icon launcher with a .desktop file, follow the instrucitons below.

1. Find the path to the package with pip3 show protonvpn-linux-gui-calexandru2018

   You should get something like Location: /usr/local/lib/<YOUR_PYTHON_VERSION>/dist-packages , this is where your Python packages reside. Note: Based on your distro, your Location path may not look exactly like this one, so make sure to use your own and Location path.

2. Based on previous information, the path to your icon should be <PATH_DISPLAYED_IN_STEP_1>/protonvpn_linux_gui/resources/img/logo/protonvpn_logo.png

3. Create a protonvpn-tray.desktop file in .local/share/applications/, and paste in the following code. Remember to change the Icon path to your own path.

   [Desktop Entry]
   Name=ProtonVPN GUI Tray
   GenericName=Unofficial ProtonVPN GUI Tray for Linux
   Exec=protonvpn-tray
   Icon=<YOUR_ICON_PATH>
   Type=Application
   Terminal=False
   Categories=Utility;GUI;Network;VPN
   

Visudo/Sudoless

If you would like to launch the GUI without having to type in your sudo password everytime, then you could add the bin to visudo. This is extremly useful when you have a .desktop file, and all you want to do is click the launcher to have the GUI pop-up without being prompted for sudo password.

1. First you will need the path to the GUI. This can be found by typing which protonvpn-gui. You should get something like this: /usr/bin/protonvpn-gui. Save it since you will need it later. Note: As previously mentioned, the path may look different for you, based on your distro.
2. Identify your username by typing whoami. Save it (or memorize it).
3. In another terminal, type in sudo visudo, and a window should pop-up, scroll to the very bottom of it.
4. Once you are at the botton, type: <YOUR_USERNAME_FROM_STEP2> ALL = (root) NOPASSWD: <YOUR_PATH_FROM_STEP1>
5. Exit and save! Have fun :)

Not yet implemented:

• Split Tunneling
• Kill Switch
• Filtering servers
• Start on Boot (only for systemd/systemctl based OS's)
• Systray/AppIndicator

GUI Layout