Linux GUI Client

The Linux GUI Client is designed for Linux desktop environments where a user is present to authenticate with your identity provider interactively.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 20.04 or 22.04. Other distributions may work, but are not officially supported.
• x86-64 CPU architecture
• systemd-resolved. Ubuntu already uses this by default.

Installation

Download the .deb package from our releases page, or from the direct link below:

• Download the Linux GUI .deb for x86-64

Run these commands:

# Install the package
sudo apt-get install ./firezone-client-gui-linux_<VERSION>_<ARCH>.deb

# Add yourself to the `firezone-client` group so you can use the tunnel service
sudo usermod -aG firezone-client "$USER"

# Reboot to finish adding yourself to the group
reboot

Usage

Signing in

1. Start the GUI from your desktop environment's application menu or by running firezone-client-gui from an interactive shell.
2. At the Welcome screen, click "Sign in". This will open the Firezone sign-in page in your default web browser.
3. Sign in using your account slug and identity provider
4. On the first run, check "Always allow" to allow your web browser to sign in to Firezone, then click "Open"
5. Unlock your desktop's keyring, or create one if needed. Most desktops, including GNOME, encrypt the keyring with your login password, so your Firezone token is encrypted at rest.
6. When you see the "Firezone connected" notification, the tunnel is ready.

The Welcome screen only appears for your first sign-in. After that, you can use the tray menu to sign in.

Accessing a Resource

When Firezone is signed in, web browsers and other programs will automatically use it to securely connect to Resources.

To copy-paste the address of a Resource you have access to:

1. Click on the Firezone tray icon to open the menu.
2. Open a Resource's submenu and click on its address to copy it.

Quitting

When you quit the Firezone GUI, your token is still stored on the disk, so it will sign in automatically next time you open the GUI.

Signing out

1. Click on the Firezone tray icon to open the menu.
2. Click "Sign out".

The tunnel is now stopped until you sign in again.

Upgrading

1. Quit firezone-client-gui if it's running.
2. Install the new package: sudo apt-get install ./firezone-client-gui-linux_<VERSION>_<ARCH>.deb
3. Restart firezone-client-gui.

Diagnostic logs

Firezone writes log files to disk. These logs stay on your computer and are not transmitted anywhere. If you encounter a bug, sending us a zip archive of your logs may help us fix the bug.

To export your logs as a zip archive, or clear your log directory:

1. Click on the Firezone tray icon to open the menu.
2. Click "Settings".
3. Click "Diagnostic Logs".

Uninstalling

1. Quit firezone-client-gui if it's running.
2. Remove the package: sudo apt-get remove firezone-client-gui

Troubleshooting

TODO (reverting DNS, check if DNS is controlled)

Known issues

• After clearing diagnostic logs, no more logs are written until the GUI and tunnel service each restart. #4764
• The GUI Client does not run on Ubuntu 24.04 yet #4883
• If Firezone is signed in, then closed and re-opened, and you cancel unlocking your keyring, Firezone won't start. #5016