trailofbits/algo

Features

• Supports only IKEv2 with strong crypto (AES-GCM, SHA2, and P-256) for iOS, MacOS, and Linux
• Supports WireGuard for all of the above, in addition to Android and Windows 11
• Generates .conf files and QR codes for iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows WireGuard clients
• Generates Apple profiles to auto-configure iOS and macOS devices for IPsec - no client software required
• Includes helper scripts to add, remove, and manage users
• Blocks ads with a local DNS resolver (optional)
• Sets up limited SSH users for tunneling traffic (optional)
• Privacy-focused with minimal logging, automatic log rotation, and configurable privacy enhancements
• Based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS with automatic security updates
• Installs to DigitalOcean, Amazon Lightsail, Amazon EC2, Vultr, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine, Scaleway, OpenStack, CloudStack, Hetzner Cloud, Linode, or your own Ubuntu server (for advanced u

Anti-features

• Does not support legacy cipher suites or protocols like L2TP, IKEv1, or RSA
• Does not install Tor, OpenVPN, or other risky servers
• Does not depend on the security of TLS
• Does not claim to provide anonymity or censorship avoidance
• Does not claim to protect you from the FSB, MSS), DGSE, or FSM

Deploy the Algo Server

The easiest way to get an Algo server running is to run it on your local system or from Google Cloud Shell and let it set up a new virtual machine in the cloud for you.

The first time you run the script, it will automatically install the required Python environment (Python 3.11+). On subsequent runs, it starts immediately and works on all platforms (macOS, Linux, Windows via WSL). The Windows PowerShell script automatically uses WSL when needed, since Ansible requires a Unix-like environment. There are several optional features available, none of which are required for a fully functional VPN server. These optional features are described in the deployment documentation.

That's it! You can now set up clients to connect to your VPN. Proceed to Configure the VPN Clients below.

• Setup an account on a cloud hosting provider. Algo supports DigitalOcean (most user friendly), Amazon Lightsail, Amazon EC2, Vultr, Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine, Scaleway, DreamCompute, Lino
• Get a copy of Algo. The Algo scripts will be run from your local system. There are two ways to get a copy:
• Download the ZIP file. Unzip the file to create a directory named algo-master containing the Algo scripts.
• Use git clone to create a directory named algo containing the Algo scripts:
• Set your configuration options. Open config.cfg in your favorite text editor. Specify the users you want to create in the users list. Create a unique user for each device you plan to connect to your V
• Start the deployment. Return to your terminal. In the Algo directory, run the appropriate script for your platform:

git clone https://github.com/trailofbits/algo.git

Setup an SSH Tunnel

If you turned on the optional SSH tunneling role, local user accounts will be created for each user in config.cfg, and SSH authorizedkey files for them will be in the configs directory (user.pem). SSH user accounts do not have shell access, cannot authenticate with a password, and only have limited tunneling options (e.g., ssh -N is required). This ensures that SSH users have the least access required to set up a tunnel and can perform no other actions on the Algo server.

Use the example command below to start an SSH tunnel by replacing and with your own. Once the tunnel is set up, you can configure a browser or other application to use 127.0.0.1:1080 as a SOCKS proxy to route traffic through the Algo server:

ssh -D 127.0.0.1:1080 -f -q -C -N <user>@algo -i configs/<ip>/ssh-tunnel/<user>.pem -F configs/<ip>/ssh_config

Setup Instructions for Specific Cloud Providers

• Configure Amazon EC2
• Configure Azure
• Configure DigitalOcean
• Configure Google Cloud Platform
• Configure Vultr
• Configure CloudStack
• Configure Hetzner Cloud

Install and Deploy from Common Platforms

• Deploy from macOS
• Deploy from Windows
• Deploy from Google Cloud Shell
• Deploy from a Docker container

Setup VPN Clients to Connect to the Server

• Setup Windows clients
• Setup Android clients
• Setup Linux clients with Ansible
• Setup Ubuntu clients to use WireGuard
• Setup Linux clients to use IPsec
• Setup Apple devices to use IPsec
• Setup Macs running macOS 10.13 or older to use WireGuard

Advanced Deployment

If you've read all the documentation and have further questions, create a new discussion.

• Deploy to your own Ubuntu server, and road warrior setup
• Deploy from Ansible non-interactively
• Deploy onto a cloud server at time of creation with shell script or cloud-init
• Deploy to an unsupported cloud provider