WireGuard VPN Setup on Debian

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring WireGuard on a Debian system.

Requirements

Debian-based system (Debian 12+)
Root or sudo privileges
A public and private key pair for WireGuard
A server to connect to

1. System Update

Before installing WireGuard, update the system packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install WireGuard

WireGuard can be installed directly from Debian's repositories:

sudo apt install wireguard -y

3. Generate Keys

Generate a private and public key for the WireGuard interface:

wg genkey | tee privatekey | wg pubkey > publickey

This command will generate two files:

privatekey: Your WireGuard private key.
publickey: Your WireGuard public key.

4. Configure WireGuard

Create a configuration file for the WireGuard interface:

sudo nano /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf

Add the following configuration, replacing the placeholders with the appropriate values:

[Interface]
PrivateKey = YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY
Address = 10.0.0.1/24     # Local IP address for WireGuard interface
ListenPort = 51820         # Port WireGuard will use

[Peer]
PublicKey = SERVER_PUBLIC_KEY
Endpoint = SERVER_IP:51820
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0     # Routes through the VPN
PersistentKeepalive = 25    # Maintain connection

YOUR_PRIVATE_KEY: The private key from the privatekey file.
SERVER_PUBLIC_KEY: The public key of the server (provided by the server).
SERVER_IP: The server’s IP address.

5. Start WireGuard

Once the configuration is complete, bring up the WireGuard interface:

sudo wg-quick up wg0

To enable WireGuard at system startup:

sudo systemctl enable wg-quick@wg0

6. Verify the Connection

To check if WireGuard is running correctly, use the following command:

sudo wg

This will display the current status of the WireGuard interface and the connected peers.

7. Stop WireGuard

To bring down the WireGuard interface:

sudo wg-quick down wg0

8. Firewall and Port Forwarding

Ensure that port 51820 (or the port you specified) is open on any firewalls or routers between your system and the server.

9. Server-Side Configuration

Ensure that the server has the appropriate WireGuard configuration to allow your client to connect. You will need to add your public key and allowed IP address to the server’s configuration.

This README provides instructions for setting up WireGuard on Debian. You may need to adjust some configurations depending on your network setup and requirements.

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