Download & Install FreePN on Gentoo
How to download and install FreePN for Gentoo Linux
September 23, 2020
🚀 Quickstart
🔗 Gentoo System Requirements
FreePN supports the latest version (rolling release) of Gentoo Linux (& derivatives based on Portage).
Please ensure that your build is fully up to date before proceeding, otherwise you may encounter issues installing the necessary packages.
For optimal performance, please ensure that your system has at least 2GB of RAM (i.e. a Raspberry Pi Model 4, 2GB RAM or better would be sufficient). Depending on your configuration, FreePN may run on systems with lower specs, but performance may be unstable.
Note: the below walkthrough assumes you are using Systemd as your service manager on Gentoo.
🔗 How to Install FreePN on Gentoo
Installation of FreePN requires running a few commands in Terminal. Please open your Terminal and execute the following commands:
First, we need to install the Portage overlay. To do this, we need to create a file for the overlay in the /etc/portage/repos.conf directory named python-overlay.conf. Create & open the file with nano by running:
sudo nano /etc/portage/repos.conf/python-overlay.conf
Once you've opened the file with nano, paste the following text into it:
[python-overlay]
# Various python ebuilds for FreePN
# Maintainer: nerdboy <nerdboy@gentoo.org>
location = /var/db/repos/python-overlay
sync-type = git
sync-uri = https://github.com/freepn/python-overlay.git
priority = 50
auto-sync = yes
If your system is configured to save overlay files in a different directory, you can accommodate this by changing the location field to the appropriate directory. Most users can ignore this and simply paste the above text as is.
Next, save and exit nano by pressing Ctrl+X, Y, and then Enter.
Now, sync the repo by running the following:
sudo emaint sync --repo python-overlay
Install the FreePN package WITH the desktop UI & dependencies:
sudo emerge freepn-gtk3-tray
OR Optional: Install FreePN & dependencies WITHOUT the desktop UI:
sudo emerge net-misc/fpnd
Finally, add your local <username> to the fpnd group by running (replace <username> with your login id):
sudo usermod -aG fpnd <username>
If you don't know your login id, you can easily find it by running:
whoami
Your login id will be the output of this command.
After executing the above commands (assuming you've installed the desktop UI), you should see a new application installed on your Desktop named FreePN Tray.
Otherwise, if you skipped the desktop UI installation step, you can still access the FreePN network and control your connection via your Terminal.
🔗 How to Use FreePN on Gentoo
If you installed FreePN WITH the desktop UI
Open the FreePN tray application. You will notice a chevron (the FreePN logo) with an X icon (meaning the VPN is currnetly stopped) in the middle appear in the top right of your home screen's menu bar. Your menu bar should look like this:
Click the chevron (the FreePN logo). You should see the following dropdown menu open:
Start
Click Start to connect to the FreePN network.
Please allow up to two minutes for FreePN to fully establish a peer connection.
Once fully connected, the X icon in the chevron (FreePN logo) should change to show a key shape (the Status text should read Connected as well).
Status
You can see the status of your connection to the FreePN network by reading the text next to the chevron (FreePN logo) in your menu bar. Common statuses include:
- Starting: your FreePN client is initializing / establishing network interfaces.
- Waiting: your FreePN client is establishing a connecting with the coordinating server and trying to find a peer to connect to.
- Config: your FreePN client is being paired with a peer.
- Connected: your connection to the FreePN network has been established. You're good to go.
You can also check the status of your connection to the FreePN network by clicking the Status button.
Stop
To diconnect from the FreePN network, simply click Stop.
If you installed FreePN WITHOUT the desktop UI
Start
To connect to the FreePN network via Terminal, open your Terminal and execute the command:
systemctl start fpnd.service
Please allow up to two minutes for FreePN to fully establish a peer connection.
Status
To check the status of your connection to the FreePN network, execute the following in your Terminal:
tail -f /run/fpnd/fpnd.state
You should see an output similar to the following:
To bring the command prompt back up from this view, press Ctrl+C.
To recap the above, common statuses include:
- Starting: your FreePN client is initializing / establishing network interfaces.
- Waiting: your FreePN client is establishing a connecting with the coordinating server and trying to find a peer to connect to.
- Config: your FreePN client is being paired with a peer.
- Connected: your connection to the FreePN network has been established. You're good to go.
Stop
To disconnect from the FreePN network, execute the command:
systemctl stop fpnd.service
🔗 Uninstall FreePN
To uninstall FreePN (assuming you installed FreePN WITH the desktop UI), simply execute the following command:
sudo emerge freepn-gtk3-tray -C
OR if you installed FreePN WITHOUT the optional desktop UI, this command:
sudo emerge net-misc/fpnd -C
🔗 Troubleshooting
Common Problems
FreePN is slow to connect
Please note that while establishing a connection to the FreePN network is usually relatively quick (30 seconds on average), depending on network conditions, it may take up to two minutes to connect.
FreePN is not working / not connecting
If you have recently installed FreePN and are experiencing issues, we recommend restarting your machine to ensure all packages and updates properly finish installation.
Clicking Stop, waiting a few moments, then clicking Start again (and waiting for a new peer connection) in the desktop UI's dropdown menu should also help resolve up a number of network configuration issues & issues with FreePN not connecting (such as a common issue where FreePN will remain in the Config state indefinitely, never establishing a connection).
On occasion, you may need to Stop and Start the program two or three times. Please watch the FreePN Status to determine the state of your connection, and allow up to two minutes for a connection to be established each time you Stop and Start the program.
Additional Issues
If after troubleshooting you are still experiencing problems with FreePN, please consider filing an issue on GitHub here, or sending an email to admin@freepn.com.