Setting up your VPN

A VPN on your own server routes your traffic through a machine you control. No third party sees your browsing, and you can reach your private services remotely.

Why self-host a VPN

• You are the provider. No company logging your traffic.

• One server, many devices — laptop, phone, tablet.

• Private access to your other services (databases, panels, storage) without exposing them publicly.

• Costs little — a small VPS serves a personal VPN comfortably.

Create a peer

In /panel/vpn:

1. Choose the protocol — WireGuard (modern, fast, simple) is the default recommendation; OpenVPN for older clients or specific requirements.

2. Add a peer (device) with a name you will recognise later.

3. Download the config file or scan the QR code.

Connect

Desktop (WireGuard):

# Linux/macOS with wg-quick installed
sudo wg-quick up ./yourconfig.conf
# disconnect
sudo wg-quick down ./yourconfig.conf

Or import the config into the official WireGuard app on any platform.

Mobile: install WireGuard, tap +, scan the QR code from the panel.

Verify it is working

curl -s https://ifconfig.me      # should show your VPN server's IP

And in the panel, the peer shows a recent handshake and byte counters.

Keep it private

• Tunnel all traffic (full-tunnel) for privacy, or route only your private subnets (split-tunnel) to reach internal services while keeping local browsing direct.

• Add a kill switch in the client so traffic never leaks if the tunnel drops.

• Never expose the VPN config files — they contain private keys. Treat them like passwords.

• Keep the server's WireGuard package updated; a VPN daemon is a security boundary.

Multiple devices and rotations

Give every device its own peer. If a device is lost, revoke just that peer rather than rotating everything. See IP addresses and networking for tunnel addressing.

Related reading

• Private mesh networking

• VPN vs commercial VPN