DawnVPN for Linux — installation guide

Download location: https://www.tinystone.us/download/linux/1.1.22/ Current build: 1.1.22+g4f42ae98. The + in file names must be written as %2B in URLs.

1. Requirements

64-bit Linux with systemd, x86_64 or aarch64 (ARM64).
nftables and iproute2 (installed automatically by the deb/rpm packages).
Root access (sudo).

2. Pick your architecture

uname -m    # x86_64 -> x86_64 / amd64 files;  aarch64 -> aarch64 / arm64 files

Distribution	x86_64	aarch64
Debian / Ubuntu / Mint	`dawnvpn_1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1_amd64.deb`	`dawnvpn_1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1_arm64.deb`
RHEL / CentOS / Alma / Rocky / Fedora / openSUSE	`dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1.x86_64.rpm`	`dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1.aarch64.rpm`
Other (systemd)	`dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-linux-x86_64.tar.gz`	`dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-linux-aarch64.tar.gz`

Every file has a matching .sha256.

3. Download and verify

BASE=https://www.tinystone.us/download/linux/1.1.22
F=dawnvpn_1.1.22%2Bg4f42ae98-1_amd64.deb        # choose your file
curl -fLO "$BASE/$F" && curl -fLO "$BASE/$F.sha256"
sha256sum -c dawnvpn_1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1_amd64.deb.sha256     # must print: OK

4. Install

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt install ./dawnvpn_1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1_amd64.deb
# or: sudo dpkg -i dawnvpn_*.deb && sudo apt -f install

RHEL / CentOS / AlmaLinux / Rocky / Fedora

sudo dnf install ./dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1.x86_64.rpm

openSUSE

sudo zypper install ./dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-1.x86_64.rpm

Other distributions (tar.gz)

tar xzf dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
cd dawnvpn-1.1.22+g4f42ae98-linux-x86_64 && sudo ./install.sh ./dawnvpn

The package enables the service for boot but does not connect until you log in.

5. First use

sudo systemctl start dawnvpn
sudo dawnvpn login -u YOUR_USERNAME      # password is asked, never shown
sudo dawnvpn nodes                       # list servers
sudo dawnvpn up                          # connect (best server)
sudo dawnvpn up --node <id>              # connect to a specific server
sudo dawnvpn status                      # state, mode, server, kill switch
sudo dawnvpn down                        # disconnect, restore network

6. Settings

sudo dawnvpn config show
sudo dawnvpn config set mode split           # global | split
sudo dawnvpn config set node auto            # auto | <node id>
sudo dawnvpn config set killswitch on        # on | off (global mode only)
sudo dawnvpn config set idle_timeout 15      # minutes: 0 | 5 | 15 | 30 (0 = never)
sudo dawnvpn config set autoconnect on       # reconnect after reboot if it was connected
sudo dawnvpn config set log_level info       # error | warn | info | debug | trace
sudo dawnvpn enable                          # start at boot, restore last state
sudo dawnvpn disable                         # do not start at boot

Global mode: all traffic goes through the VPN. The kill switch blocks traffic outside the tunnel, also while connecting or reconnecting.
Split mode: domestic websites go directly through your network and local DNS; everything else goes through the VPN. The kill switch is off in this mode.
IPv6 is blocked while DawnVPN is connected.

7. File locations

Path	Purpose
`/usr/bin/dawnvpn`	program
`/usr/lib/systemd/system/dawnvpn.service`	service (tar.gz install: `/etc/systemd/system/`)
`/etc/dawnvpn/settings.json`	settings; account file is also in `/etc/dawnvpn/` (root only)
`/var/lib/dawnvpn/`	state: learned domains, DNS backup
`/run/dawnvpn/dawnvpn.sock`	control socket (root only)
`journalctl -u dawnvpn`	logs

8. Uninstall

sudo apt remove dawnvpn        # Debian/Ubuntu (apt purge dawnvpn also deletes settings)
sudo dnf remove dawnvpn        # RHEL family
sudo zypper remove dawnvpn     # openSUSE

tar.gz install: sudo dawnvpn down; sudo systemctl disable --now dawnvpn; sudo rm /usr/bin/dawnvpn /etc/systemd/system/dawnvpn.service; sudo rm -rf /etc/dawnvpn /var/lib/dawnvpn.

9. Troubleshooting

connect … dawnvpn.sock: the service is not running — sudo systemctl start dawnvpn.
Status shows "kill switch NOT ACTIVE": install nftables (sudo apt install nftables / sudo dnf install nftables).
If networking breaks: sudo dawnvpn down (or sudo systemctl stop dawnvpn) restores routes and DNS.