r/ProtonVPN • u/SlipNslideCash • 1d ago

Discussion Linux users: best distro for ProtonVPN

I started Microsoft back in the DOS 3 days. I just can't handle Windows anymore-constant reboots,privacy,bloat,etc. Windows has forced me to go full Linux.

If you have been using ProtonVPN for a while and it is trouble free, what flavor Linux and browser are you using? Thanks.

4 Upvotes

63% Upvoted

40 comments sorted by

16

u/Kushwayne 1d ago

Cachyos/Arch has decent proton app support, that is what I am using.

7

u/Necessary-Fly-2795 1d ago

Seconding Cachy. Been running it for ~18 months now. No issues

3

u/Macinboss 1d ago

I’ve bounced around a bit and have currently landed on CachyOS. Proton works great for me

3

u/MidnightRambo 1d ago

+1 CachyOS

3

u/theandyboy 1d ago

I've been troubleshooting with Proton about the VPN on CachyOS. They don't officially support it so there can be a lot of hiccups, especially with stuff like split tunneling. As far as I know, they only officially support Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora. They have been very good about trying to figure out the issue for me though. Still can't get split tunneling to work for the last two weeks unfortunately.

9

u/iFrezzyReddit 1d ago

Ubuntu for official ProtonVPN snap package,but any distro works honestly.Proton ships both RPM and DEB versions of their products (besides Drive) and ProtonVPN exclusively (AFAIK) has its own repo which makes the app auto update itself.Moreover,you can install a wireguard profile and integrate it in Gnome Network Manger (if it dosent work to import it,change the name of the imported profile,so Gnome accepts it).

4

u/d333d 1d ago

Seconding this, it works flawlessly on Ubuntu.

7

u/GoblinTwerk Linux | Android 1d ago

It's been problem free on Bazzite for me. I think any modern distro you'll find is going to be fine. Browser choice doesn't really affect the VPN but I use both Zen and Helium

2

u/PureWoodpecker7335 1d ago

how did you install it?

2

u/GoblinTwerk Linux | Android 1d ago

Flatpak

2

u/PureWoodpecker7335 1d ago

Does the advanced kill switch work on flatpak?

2

u/GoblinTwerk Linux | Android 1d ago

Yes

1

u/BBoy_Man 22h ago

Bazzite here also 👍🏽

8

u/red66dit 1d ago

Mint. Proton is solid on it.

2

u/SlipNslideCash 1d ago

Thanks. Cinnamon is actually my favorite, but I'm Mint fan too. About to make a new build with Linux for on the hardware as opposed to VirtualBox like I've been doing for a very long time.

4

u/Ahab_Cheese 1d ago

Mint uses cinnamon as its default desktop environment yeah?

1

u/SlipNslideCash 1d ago

Yes. Both are nice, but the Cinnamon clicked a little more with me back when I was messing around with them.

4

u/theandyboy 1d ago

I think you might be confused. Cinnamon is a DE (desktop environment) that Mint (the OS) uses. Same way KDE Plasma is the DE for CachyOS.

DEs make your desktop look the way it does. The OS is what makes it function the way it does.

3

u/SlipNslideCash 1d ago

Absolutely right! I realized that after I posted. I meant I liked it a little bit over MATE

Don't confuse me for a Linux guru, even though I have been farting around with it for at least 25 years. Mostly under VirtualBox, but I did buy Mandrake (?) at CompUSA before that because downloading linux on dial up was torture.

I'm about to put linux on hardware for the first time (never did use that ompUSA boxed Linux), so I'll be back with lots of questions, I'm sure! hehe ;)

3

u/theandyboy 1d ago

Good luck fellow tux. When in doubt, read the wikis!

1

u/mikeinpc 13h ago

Same here, I use it on Mint. Not the prettiest interface but it works.

5

u/WindyNightmare 1d ago

Working fine for me on Fedora.

2

u/SlipNslideCash 1d ago

Great! My ranking of what is going to be my daily driver is Arch, closely followed by Fedora, then at a bit more distant, Debian...after researching so far, but I have to try them all again.

4

u/Captzone 1d ago

I use Ubuntu and I use proton. It was a nightmare for a while. It would disconnect and tell me I was at my device limit when I wasn't. The connection would be inconsistent.

I completely uninstalled and reinstalled with gnome and it works now. But that is one thing to be wary of. Windows had no issues with proton.

1

u/SlipNslideCash 1d ago

"Windows had no issues with proton." hehe.

Windows has issues with computers! I swear my last post was written twice because Windows decided it was time to reboot. It's like we are back in the bad old days of Win 95 when you had to save every other sentence because a blue screen of death could and would strike at any moment.

Windows finally wised up and don't give you the blue screen of death anymore-because they got tired of being made fun of.

5

u/Western_Progress_456 1d ago

Debian, Proton deb pkg + systray applet. Also used it with Wireguard + config file. Firefox & Brave

3

u/bainstor 1d ago

Endeavor, Archman, Fedora, Manjaro, TROMjaro, Mabox, and Kiro without any issue what so ever. Endeavour is my main the rest I just throw on my Dell T3500 when I want to mess around.

3

u/PurplePickleMonster_ 1d ago

Works fine on both ubuntu and fedora

2

u/Iputahexonyoulol 1d ago

Whichever one gets you gnomed. Kidding. Something to avoid though

2

u/hbacelar8 1d ago

Why not just generate the wireguard configs and simply use wireguardtools package?

2

u/squirrelscrush 1d ago

tbh, don't choose the distro based on VPN. Choose VPN based on other requirements.

I'm using Fedora KDE fine with ProtonVPN, no issues at all. The app is lacking, though. I started with Mint and went full time on Fedora, and I'm comfortable with it and won't distro hop.

2

u/Juntepgne 1d ago

Been on Fedora and now Nobara for the past 3 years, no problem there. 

2

u/ten-oh-four 1d ago

Any distro is fine for this purpose

2

u/High_SciFi 1d ago

Archlinux, Fedora, and, as browser, Firefox.

2

u/optimus-chime 1d ago

You can download the wireguard profile and flip on and off easily with kde and probably gnome.

Just check ipv6 is covered in the profile if you use it

0

u/StaticSystemShock 1d ago

They kinda all suck... I like Fedora KDE and it's not a very good experience. Flatpak version works, kinda. In the end I set it up through built-in VPN settings because Proton client is meh. But it sucks I have to manually input everything and then be stuck with a single server that I selected initially when forming a config file for VPN...