Your first client

This page takes a fresh panel to a connected client: an inbound, a client, a subscription link and a check that it works. It assumes the panel is installed and the server is a node (This server) or you have connected a node. The steps use OpenVPN, the default choice; WireGuard and OpenConnect differ only in the inbound form and in the app the client uses.

1. Create an inbound

An inbound is one protocol with its own port and tunnel network.

1. Open Inbounds and press New inbound.
2. Under Protocol, choose OpenVPN. The choice is fixed once the inbound exists. Choosing a protocol compares the three.
3. Keep the suggested Name, Port and Tunnel network, or change them. The name cannot be changed later.
4. Create the inbound.

The inbound is saved under Not on a node and is not running yet.

2. Attach it to a node

1. Open Nodes.
2. On the card of This server (or the node you connected), press Attach inbound.
3. In Choose an inbound, select the inbound and confirm.

Ovira checks the node before it starts anything: the port must be free, the tunnel network must not overlap another inbound or a route already on that server, and for OpenConnect the software and a certificate must be available. If a check fails, nothing changes and the dialog shows why. When the checks pass, the inbound starts, and on Inbounds it shows Running.

3. Create a client

1. Open Clients and press New client.
2. Enter a Name. It is also the VPN user name: letters, digits, dot, dash and underscore.
3. Under Plan, set Traffic allowance (the form starts at 50 GB; leave it empty for unlimited), Duration (30 days to start with) and Start the clock. At first connection keeps the days unused until the client first connects.
4. Set Devices at once. The form starts at 2; 0 means no limit.
5. Press Create.

When the panel has more than one inbound, the form also asks which ones the client may use. All inbounds is the default.

4. Send the link

Open the client. Under Send to the client, copy the subscription link. It looks like https://panel.example.com:2053/sub/..., and opens a page with the remaining traffic, the end date and the profile to import. Send the link by any messenger. Next to it there is a QR code for opening it on a phone.

If the link leaks, choose New subscription link from the client's menu. The old link stops working.

5. Connect

The client opens the link and follows the page:

1. Install the app shows the recommended app for their device. For OpenVPN that is OpenVPN Connect.
2. Add your configuration imports the profile: Open in OpenVPN Connect on a phone, or Download profile and open the file.
3. Sign in appears when the inbound asks for a user name and password. The page shows them.

6. Check that it works

Open Connections. The client appears in the Live list with its inbound, address and speed. The client's own page shows Connected now, and Overview counts them under Online now.

If something is wrong

Symptom	Likely cause
Attach inbound refuses	The port is busy on that server, or the tunnel network overlaps another one. The dialog names the problem.
The profile points at the wrong address	Public address under Settings → General is empty or wrong. Fix it, then download the profile again.
The app connects but there is no internet	NAT client traffic to the internet is off on the inbound, or the server forwards nothing. See OpenVPN.
The app cannot reach the server at all	A firewall at the hosting provider blocks the inbound's port. Ovira opens it only in ufw or firewalld.

Related pages

• Clients: every field of the client form and the client page.
• Inbounds: the inbound list and its settings.
• The subscription page: what the client sees and how to brand it.
• Client apps: apps by platform and protocol.