Install OpenVPN for Raspbian

This guide was created for Raspbian Buster Lite but also works to set up an OpenVPN client on Raspbian Buster with desktop.

1. Update the Raspberry Pi

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

2. Install OpenVPN

sudo apt-get install openvpn unzip

3. Make sure the time zone is correct

Run the command below and go through the configuration prompt to select the correct time zone.

sudo dpkg-reconfigure tzdata

4. Choose region you want to connect to

5. Elevate your privileges to root

sudo -i

6. Download configuration file & setup OpenVPN

7. Enter your login credentials

echo "CHANGE TO YOUR USERNAME" >> /etc/openvpn/credentials
echo "CHANGE TO YOUR PASSWORD" >> /etc/openvpn/credentials

8. Start OpenVPN and see that everything works

sudo openvpn --config /etc/openvpn/ovpn.conf --daemon

9. Verify that the connection was successful

Wait for about a minute after running the last command, then run:

curl https://www.ovpn.com/v2/api/client/ptr | python -m json.tool

You should see something like:

{"status":true,"ip":"46.227.67.132","ptr":"cliXXX.ovpn.com"}

10. Done

Congratulations! Now your Raspberry Pi will run behind OVPN. The Raspberry Pi will connect automatically when it is started.

Troubleshooting

In case the connection was not set up properly when you verified it in the previous step, please send us the OpenVPN log so we can assist. You can retrieve it by writing:

sudo -i
cat /tmp/openvpn.log

You can also check if OpenVPN is running properly by writing:

ps aux|grep openvpn