🔐 Why I Ditched Other VPN Tools and Set Up Pritunl on Ubuntu & Windows
“Secure remote access doesn’t have to be a headache. I figured that out the hard way — and here’s what I learned.”
A while ago, I needed a VPN setup — simple, secure, scalable. I tried OpenVPN directly. Too much config. I looked into WireGuard. Great, but lacked the UI I needed for a quick deploy.
Then I met Pritunl — and let me tell you — it just worked. A clean web UI, enterprise features out of the box, open-source, and super developer-friendly.
So if you’re a:
Student trying to spin up a secure dev environment,
Remote worker juggling homebrew servers,
Or just someone who loves messing with infra and tools like I do…
Here’s a no-fluff guide to get Pritunl working on both Ubuntu (server-side) and Windows (client-side) 🔧.
Let’s get into it
Wait, What Even Is Pritunl?
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Think of Pritunl as “OpenVPN, but with a dashboard and no hair-pulling.”
It’s built on OpenVPN & WireGuard (your choice), has a full web UI, user management, organizations, and even REST APIs if you’re into automation.
And it’s:
Free and open source 🧡
Actually easy to use (not just saying that)
Good-looking (yes, devs care about this too )
Setting Up Pritunl Server on Ubuntu
Press enter or click to view image in full size
This setup assumes you’re using Ubuntu 20.04/22.04. If you’re on a cloud VPS (like AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.), it’ll work just fine.
Step 1: Update & Prep
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
Keep things fresh.
Step 2: Check System Info
Why? Because different Ubuntu versions might need slightly different .deb builds of the Pritunl client.
lsb_release -a && uname -m
We’re telling Ubuntu: “Hey, these packages are cool, let them in”
Step 3: Download the Latest Pritunl Client
wget $(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/pritunl/pritunl-client-electron/releases/latest \
| grep "browser_download_url" \
| grep "amd64.deb" \
| cut -d '"' -f 4)
This command does 3 things:
Fetches the latest Pritunl Client release
Extracts the
.deblink for 64-bit UbuntuDownloads it directly
Step 4: Install the Client
sudo apt install ./pritunl-client-electron_*.deb -y
Boom. You now have the client installed!
Step 5: Launch the Client
pritunl-client-electron &
Or search for “Pritunl Client” in your Ubuntu Applications menu.
Step 5: Up and running
Head to https://your-server-ip in your browser.
You’ll get a warning about SSL — ignore it (self-signed cert).
Then Pritunl will ask for:
Setup Key → Get it from
sudo pritunl setup-keyDefault Login → Get it from
sudo pritunl default-password
Change those ASAP after login!
Creating Users, Orgs & VPN Profiles
Inside the dashboard:
Create an Organization (think of it like a group/team)
Add a User under that org
Go to Users → Download Profile
That’s your .tar VPN config file.
Now, let’s move to the Windows side of the story.
Setting Up Pritunl Client on Windows
Press enter or click to view image in full size
I’ve seen folks struggle here. But it’s honestly smoother than most “VPN” setups I’ve tried before.
Step 1: Download the Client
Head to client.pritunl.com → Download Windows client(Windows x86 + ARM) → Donwload Installer → .
Step 2: Import Your VPN Profile
Extract the
.tarfile (you can use 7-Zip or WinRAR)Open Pritunl Client → Import Profile → Select the
.ovpnfile inside
Step 3: Connect
Hit Connect → You’re tunneling like a pro
Bonus: You can import multiple profiles for different servers. Great for remote teams, DevOps workflows, or when you’re managing access for clients.
Quick Tips From My Setup
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Port 443 is used by default (so it’s rarely blocked by public Wi-Fi)
Make sure your firewall isn’t eating your packets:
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw reload
You can enable 2FA in Pritunl dashboard for extra security
Don’t forget to secure your MongoDB if it’s public-facing
Why Not Just Use OpenVPN Directly?
Press enter or click to view image in full size
You can — but you’ll be juggling config files, restarting daemons, and SSHing every time you need to change a user. Pritunl makes it easy.
And for me, that’s the goal: tools should work for us, not against us.
Final Thoughts (From a Developer Who Likes Peace of Mind)
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Pritunl has been a low-maintenance, reliable part of my infrastructure toolkit. I’ve used it for:
Connecting to internal tools on cloud servers
Allowing teammates secure access during hackathons
Playing with microservices that need to “talk” securely
If you’re into security, infrastructure, or remote teamwork — give it a shot.
It’s free, elegant, and most importantly… it just works.
Resources You’ll Want
If this helped you, consider sharing it with someone who needs a VPN but dreads setting it up 😅. And if you’re into DevOps, infra, or cloud stuff — let’s connect!
Press enter or click to view image in full size
