How do I install and use VilaNet on Linux?

Download the AppImage for your computer, make it executable, sign in, and use VilaNet's one-time Install for TUN Mode flow to enable a full system-level VPN connection.

The VilaNet 2.12.82 packages, shared app labels, architecture requirements and AppImage TUN installation flow have been checked against the current release and application source. The desktop prompts and a real VPN tunnel still require final verification on clean AMD64 and ARM64 Ubuntu systems before publication.

Before you start

VilaNet's current official Linux builds support:

• AMD64 / x86_64: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later; and
• ARM64 / aarch64: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or later.

You also need an active VilaVPN account and administrator access for the one-time TUN setup.

To check your architecture, open Terminal and run:

uname -m

• x86_64 means download the AMD64 build.
• aarch64 or arm64 means download the ARM64 build.

1. Download the AppImage

The AppImage is the preferred starting package because it does not require a traditional package installation.

• AMD64: Download VilaNet 2.12.82 AppImage for AMD64
• ARM64: Download VilaNet 2.12.82 AppImage for ARM64

You can also reach both packages through the VilaVPN downloads page or verify them on the public VilaNet 2.12.82 release page.

Do not run a copy received through an unsolicited message or an unofficial download site.

2. Start VilaNet

1. Open Terminal.

2. Change to your Downloads directory:

   cd ~/Downloads
   

3. Make the downloaded AppImage executable. Use the command matching your computer:

   chmod +x VilaNet-for-Linux-AMD64-2.12.82.AppImage
   

   or:

   chmod +x VilaNet-for-Linux-ARM64-2.12.82.AppImage
   

4. Start VilaNet with the matching command:

   ./VilaNet-for-Linux-AMD64-2.12.82.AppImage
   

   or:

   ./VilaNet-for-Linux-ARM64-2.12.82.AppImage
   

The AppImage can initially use proxy mode. Complete the one-time TUN setup below if you want VilaNet to route full device traffic through a system-level VPN interface.

3. Sign in

1. Open VilaNet. It opens on the Login tab (Register is the tab beside it).
2. Enter your VilaVPN account email in the E-mail field.
3. Enter your account password in the Password field. It is always shown as dots; the eye icon on the right toggles it.
4. Select the I have read and agree to: checkbox — the Terms of Use (EULA) and Privacy Agreement links sit directly under it and are worth reading first. Ticking the box immediately opens the data-consent dialog Allow minimal data to provide VPN service?.
5. Review the message. Select the blue Allow if you agree and want to continue.
6. Select the white Login button.

Remember me is ticked by default.

VilaNet should open the main screen. An expired or inactive package must be renewed before it can connect.

Sign-in recording and step-by-step screenshots

The sign-in screen is the same interface on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. The recording and screenshots below come from the English interface of VilaNet v2.14.6 (core 1.13.14-cc9ce62ff).

This recording and these screenshots come from an official demo session marked FIXTURE: the account (tutorial-user@example.com), nodes, latency, data usage and IP are all example data, the password is only ever shown as dots, and no real server is contacted while filming. The on-screen wording and the steps match the VilaNet you installed.

What the login screen looks like. Login and Register tabs at the top; the E-mail and Password fields in the middle; below them the already-ticked Remember me and, on the right, Forgot Password?; then the I have read and agree to: checkbox with the Terms of Use (EULA) and Privacy Agreement links; and at the bottom the white Login button, the wing logo and a Diagnostics link.

The data-consent dialog that ticking the agreement opens. It is titled Allow minimal data to provide VPN service? and lists what is sent (account credentials, device model and OS version, VPN errors only, crash logs) as well as what is explicitly not logged or sent (browsing history, DNS queries, IP addresses after VPN connection, traffic content). At the bottom are a blue Allow and a red-outlined Don't Allow; the recording chooses Allow.

This dialog is opened by ticking the agreement checkbox — it is not a login failure. Choosing Allow closes it and returns you to the filled-in form with the agreement now ticked, ready for Login.

4. Install TUN support

An AppImage runs from a read-only mounted image, so VilaNet first copies its runtime to a writable directory under ~/.local/share/VilaNet. It then asks for administrator permission to grant the installed runtime the Linux network capability it needs and restarts from that installed copy.

1. In VilaNet, open Settings.
2. Open Linux Settings.
3. Read the Running from AppImage information panel, then select Install for TUN Mode. Selecting TUN Mode under Connection Mode starts the same installation when the local runtime is not ready.
4. When Ubuntu asks for administrator authentication, verify that the request belongs to VilaNet's TUN installation, then enter your system password.
5. Wait while VilaNet installs the local runtime and restarts. Do not close the password prompt or launch a second copy during this step.
6. After restart, confirm TUN Mode is selected. The installed VilaNet entry is also added to your desktop application menu.

This is separate from your VilaVPN password: the administrator prompt expects the password for your Linux user account.

5. Choose a server and connect

The connection controls are shared with the other VilaNet apps.

1. Open Server Nodes.
2. Choose Auto Select for the fastest available server, unless you need a specific location.
3. Return to the main screen.
4. Select Connect.
5. Wait for Connecting to change to Connected.

If VilaNet asks for administrator permission at this point, finish the TUN installation steps above and allow the app to restart before connecting again.

Connect-flow recording and step-by-step screenshots

After you sign in, the connect flow is the same interface on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. The recording and screenshots below come from the English interface of VilaNet v2.14.6 (core 1.13.14-cc9ce62ff).

This recording and these screenshots come from an official demo session marked FIXTURE: the account, nodes, latency, data usage and IP are all example data (for example IP Address: 203.0.113.1), and no real server is contacted while filming. The on-screen wording and the steps match the VilaNet you installed; whether a connection is actually established is shown by the status on your own device.

1. Open the main page. The card in the middle shows the status Disconnected, the connection-mode button TUN Mode and IP Address. Below it are the Pac Mode / Global Mode switch, the current server card and a blue Connect button. The left rail holds Main Page, Servers, Settings, Invoices, Support Tickets, Announcements and Check Updates.

   

2. Click the current server card (here Demo Tokyo, second line Tcp: 32 ms) to open the Server Nodes page. The top of that page shows your current package (here Vila Demo) and a Change control.

3. Expand the group you want. Auto-Select (3) is expanded by default and holds Fastest, Japan and Singapore, each labelled Auto Select. The protocol groups (for example AnyTLS (2)) are collapsed by default — click the group header to expand one. Once expanded, nodes are listed under country sub-headings, each showing its name and latency.

   

4. Click a node (here Demo Singapore, Tcp: 45 ms). The page returns to the main page by itself — there is nothing to go back to.

5. Check the selection on the main page. The server card now reads Demo Singapore, but the status is still Disconnected — selecting a node is not connecting.

   

6. Click Connect. The status first turns orange and reads Connecting, then turns blue and reads Connected; at the same time the wing logo above it turns blue and the button becomes a red Disconnect.

   

7. Disconnect. Click the red Disconnect. The status passes through an orange Disconnecting, returns to Disconnected, and the button turns back into the blue Connect.

How to tell it really connected

Look only at the status block in the middle of the main page. Three things change together:

⚠️ Do not judge the connection state by the colour of the server card. The selected server card is always highlighted blue — including when you are not connected. The "Disconnected" and "Connected" screenshots above are the same blue Demo Singapore card: the card is identical, and only the status text, the logo colour and the button change.

The Server Nodes list carries no "connected" marker either. The blue highlight there also means only "currently selected", and a node's second line is its latency (for example Tcp: 45 ms), not its connection state. To check the connection state, go back to the main page.

Both intermediate states (the orange Connecting and the orange Disconnecting) last about a second, so not catching them is normal.

No nodes visible on the Server Nodes page means the protocol groups are collapsed by default — click the group header to expand. That is not a fault. Picking a node does not connect you: back on the main page you still have to click Connect.

The narrow-window layout

VilaNet switches layout on window width. A wide window has the permanent left rail (Main Page, Servers, Settings, Invoices, Support Tickets, Announcements, Check Updates); narrow the window and the same entries move behind a ☰ button at the top left, with identical steps. Phones are always the narrow layout. Logout sits at the bottom of the left rail in the wide layout and at the bottom of the ☰ drawer in the narrow one; it opens a dialog titled Confirm asking "Are you sure you want to logout?", where Confirm signs you out to the login screen and Cancel returns.

Settings and your account

Settings has four icon tabs. The first holds the VPN package selection and Connection Mode (TUN Mode or Proxy Mode), plus Auto-Reconnect and the local-proxy options. The last (right-most) tab is the account tab: it shows Account Setting with your sign-in email, and About.

6. Confirm that it works

1. Leave VilaNet open for a few seconds and confirm it remains Connected.
2. Open a browser and load two familiar HTTPS websites.
3. Return to VilaNet and confirm it still shows Connected.

The app status and working web traffic together are a stronger check than an IP-check website alone. See Confirm VilaVPN is working for the complete verification steps.

If something goes wrong

The AppImage does not start

• Confirm you downloaded the build matching uname -m.
• Run the AppImage from Terminal so you can preserve the exact error.
• Confirm the executable bit is set with chmod +x.
• Confirm the system meets the Ubuntu version requirement above.
• Download a fresh copy from an official link if the file is incomplete.

The administrator prompt does not appear

VilaNet uses a graphical password helper for one-time TUN elevation. On Ubuntu, install the preferred helper and try Install for TUN Mode again:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install zenity

If elevation is cancelled or fails, VilaNet does not complete TUN setup. Keep using proxy mode temporarily or preserve the error and contact support.

TUN mode does not work after restart

• Open Settings > Linux Settings and confirm TUN Mode is selected.
• Launch VilaNet from the desktop application menu so it uses the installed writable runtime, rather than starting the original AppImage again.
• Record any message mentioning CAP_NET_ADMIN, elevation, DNS or the TUN device.
• Do not repeatedly run the whole app with sudo; preserve diagnostics and contact support instead.

Login or connection fails

• Confirm the email address has no extra spaces and the subscription is active.
• Confirm ordinary internet access works while VilaNet is disconnected.
• Try Auto Select once.
• Record the exact error and preserve diagnostics before changing advanced settings or reinstalling.
• Continue to Cannot sign in or Cannot connect.

Next step

Learn how to choose a specific server, or keep Auto Select enabled for normal use.