Dedicated Servers & VPS•December 12, 2025• 12 views

How to install a WireGuard VPN server on a Linux VPS

How to install a WireGuard VPN server on a Linux VPS

How to install a WireGuard VPN server on a Linux VPS

WireGuard is a modern, fast, and secure VPN protocol. It is directly integrated into the Linux kernel since version 5.6, giving it excellent performance.

Why choose WireGuard?

Advantage Detail
⚡ Ultra fast 2 to 5 times faster than OpenVPN
🔒 Very secure Modern cryptography (ChaCha20, Curve25519)
📝 Simple Only ~4,000 lines of code (vs 600,000 for OpenVPN)
📱 QR Code Mobile configuration in 10 seconds
🔋 Economical Less battery consumption on mobile

WireGuard Logo

Prerequisites

Supported operating system

Distribution Supported versions
Debian 11 (Bullseye), 12 (Bookworm), 13 (Trixie) ✨
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS, 25.04, 25.10

💡 Recommendation: Use Debian 13 or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to benefit from WireGuard integrated into the kernel.

Minimum configuration

Item Required
RAM Minimum 512 MB
CPU 1 vCPU
Storage 5 GB
Port 51820 UDP open

⚠️ Important: Open port 51820/UDP in your hosting provider's firewall (cloud panel) before starting.

Installing the WireGuard server

Step 1: Connect to the server

Connect to your VPS via SSH:

ssh root@your-server-ip

Step 2: System update

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 3: Download and run the script

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/angristan/wireguard-install/master/wireguard-install.sh
chmod +x wireguard-install.sh
./wireguard-install.sh

Step 4: Answer the questions

The script asks a few simple questions:

Welcome to the WireGuard installer!

I need to ask you a few questions before starting the setup.

IPv4 or IPv6 public address: [Press Enter]

Recommended answers:

Question Answer Explanation
Public address Enter Auto-detected
Public interface Enter Auto-detected
WireGuard interface name wg0 Default name
Server WireGuard IPv4 10.66.66.1 VPN network
Server WireGuard port 51820 Standard port
First DNS resolver 1.1.1.1 Cloudflare (fast)
Second DNS resolver 1.0.0.1 Cloudflare backup
Client name my-pc Your choice of name

Step 5: Retrieve the client configuration

At the end of the installation, the script displays:

  1. A QR code (for smartphone) 📱
  2. The path to the configuration file
It is also available in /root/wg0-client-my-pc.conf

If you want to add more clients, run this script again.

For smartphones: Scan the QR code displayed in the terminal with the WireGuard app.

For computers: Download the .conf file:

# From your local PC
scp root@your-server-ip:/root/wg0-client-my-pc.conf ~/Desktop/

Add other devices

To create profiles for your other devices, rerun the script:

./wireguard-install.sh

Menu displayed:

WireGuard is already installed.

Select an option:
   1) Add a new client
   2) Remove an existing client
   3) Remove WireGuard
   4) Exit

Choose 1 and enter a new name (e.g., iphone, tablet).

💡 Tip: A QR code is automatically generated for each new client!

Connecting to the VPN

Windows

  1. Download WireGuard for Windows
  2. Install and open the application
  3. Click on "Import tunnel from file"
  4. Select your .conf file
  5. Click on "Activate"

macOS

  1. Download WireGuard from the App Store
  2. Open the application
  3. Click on "Import tunnel from file"
  4. Select your .conf file
  5. Click on "Activate"

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

# Client installation
sudo apt install wireguard resolvconf

# Copy the configuration file
sudo cp my-pc.conf /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf

# Connection
sudo wg-quick up wg0

# Disconnection
sudo wg-quick down wg0

For automatic connection at startup:

sudo systemctl enable wg-quick@wg0
sudo systemctl start wg-quick@wg0

Android 📱

  1. Install WireGuard from the Play Store
  2. Open the application
  3. Press "+" → "Scan QR code"
  4. Scan the QR code displayed in the server terminal
  5. Press the toggle to activate

iOS (iPhone/iPad) 📱

  1. Install WireGuard from the App Store
  2. Open the application
  3. Press "+" → "Create from QR code"
  4. Scan the QR code
  5. Allow VPN configuration
  6. Press the toggle to activate

Verify it's working

Once connected to the VPN:

  1. Go to whatismyip.com
  2. The displayed IP address should be that of your VPS

✅ If this is the case, your VPN is working!

Check the server-side status

sudo wg show

Expected result:

interface: wg0
  public key: aBcDeFgH...
  private key: (hidden)
  listening port: 51820

peer: xYzAbCdE...
  endpoint: 203.0.113.50:51820
  allowed ips: 10.66.66.2/32
  latest handshake: 1 minute, 30 seconds ago
  transfer: 15.24 MiB received, 92.38 MiB sent

Useful Commands

Action Command
View VPN status sudo wg show
Start WireGuard sudo systemctl start wg-quick@wg0
Stop WireGuard sudo systemctl stop wg-quick@wg0
Restart WireGuard sudo systemctl restart wg-quick@wg0
View logs sudo journalctl -u wg-quick@wg0 -f
Add/Remove a client ./wireguard-install.sh
Show client's QR code qrencode -t ansiutf8 < /root/wg0-client-nom.conf

Quick Troubleshooting

❌ Client Not Connecting

Checks:

  1. Is the UDP port 51820 open in your hosting provider's firewall?
  2. Is WireGuard running on the server?
sudo wg show

If nothing is displayed:

sudo systemctl start wg-quick@wg0

❌ Connected but No Internet

Check IP forwarding:

cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

If it shows 0, enable it:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" >> /etc/sysctl.conf

Check NAT rules:

sudo iptables -t nat -L POSTROUTING

❌ QR Code Not Displaying

Install qrencode:

apt install qrencode

Then display the QR code:

qrencode -t ansiutf8 < /root/wg0-client-mon-pc.conf

❌ High Latency or Disconnections

Add a keepalive in the client configuration. Edit the .conf file and add under [Peer]:

PersistentKeepalive = 25

WireGuard vs OpenVPN

Criterion WireGuard OpenVPN
Speed ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐
Simplicity ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐
Lines of Code ~4,000 ~600,000
Cryptography Modern (ChaCha20) Classic (AES)
Mobile Support Excellent + QR Good
Firewall Traversal Medium (UDP) Excellent (TCP 443)
Maturity Recent (2020) Proven (2001)

💡 Our advice: Use WireGuard for speed and simplicity. Keep OpenVPN as a backup if you need to traverse restrictive firewalls (TCP port 443).

Useful Resources

Resource Link
Official WireGuard Website wireguard.com
WireGuard Windows wireguard.com/install
WireGuard macOS App Store
WireGuard Android Play Store
WireGuard iOS App Store
Installation Script github.com/angristan/wireguard-install

Summary

Step Action
1 SSH into the VPS
2 Update the system
3 Download and run the installation script
4 Answer the questions (or keep default values)
5 Scan the QR code (mobile) or retrieve the .conf file (PC)
6 Import into the WireGuard app
7 Enable and enjoy! 🎉
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