Guides · Sep 27, 2026

How to Set Up Your Own WireGuard VPN on a VPS

Set up a personal WireGuard VPN server on an Ubuntu or Debian VPS in about 10 minutes, then connect your phone and laptop.

WireGuard is a fast, modern VPN that's built into the Linux kernel. Running it on your own VPS gives you a private IP address that nobody else shares. Even our smallest plan handles a personal or family VPN easily.

1. Install WireGuard

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y wireguard qrencode

2. Create server and client keys

cd /etc/wireguard
umask 077
wg genkey | tee server.key | wg pubkey > server.pub
wg genkey | tee phone.key | wg pubkey > phone.pub

3. Create the server config

Find your network interface name with ip route | grep default (often eth0 or ens3), then create /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf:

[Interface]
Address = 10.8.0.1/24
ListenPort = 51820
PrivateKey = (contents of server.key)
PostUp = iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
PostDown = iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

[Peer]
PublicKey = (contents of phone.pub)
AllowedIPs = 10.8.0.2/32

4. Enable forwarding and start it

echo "net.ipv4.ip_forward=1" | sudo tee /etc/sysctl.d/99-wireguard.conf
sudo sysctl --system
sudo ufw allow 51820/udp
sudo systemctl enable --now wg-quick@wg0

5. Connect your phone

Create phone.conf:

[Interface]
PrivateKey = (contents of phone.key)
Address = 10.8.0.2/32
DNS = 1.1.1.1

[Peer]
PublicKey = (contents of server.pub)
Endpoint = YOUR_SERVER_IP:51820
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0
PersistentKeepalive = 25

Show it as a QR code and scan it with the WireGuard app:

qrencode -t ansiutf8 < phone.conf

Keep it personal

A VPN for yourself, your family or your team is welcome. Reselling VPN access or using it to hide abuse breaks our Acceptable Use Rules.