Pangolin for Linux: Desktop Client with Tray Menu

Pangolin now has a desktop client for Linux. Until now, connecting a Linux machine as a user device meant using Pangolin CLI. The new app gives you a tray icon for connecting and switching organizations, a settings window, in-app updates, and a background service that manages the tunnel. It runs on GNOME, KDE Plasma, and XFCE, under both X11 and Wayland.

Download Pangolin for Linux or grab a package from the GitHub releases.

Release Highlights

Packages for Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, and Arch

The client ships as .deb, .rpm, and Arch .pkg.tar.zst packages for both amd64 and arm64. Install it with your normal package manager:

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo apt install ./pangolin-client-<arch>-<version>.deb

# Fedora
sudo dnf install ./pangolin-client-<arch>-<version>.rpm

# openSUSE
sudo zypper install ./pangolin-client-<arch>-<version>.rpm

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -U ./pangolin-client-<arch>-<version>.pkg.tar.zst

The package installs the app, an app menu entry, and a pangolin-client systemd service. The service runs as root and handles the tunnel, routes, and DNS, while the app runs as your user and talks to it. The service is enabled and started during install, so you can open Pangolin from your app menu and log in right away.

Supported distributions are Ubuntu 22.04 or later, Debian 12 or later, and current releases of Fedora, openSUSE, and Arch. RHEL 9 and its rebuilds don't ship WebKitGTK 4.1, which the app needs, so the package won't install there.

Works the Same as Windows

The Linux and Windows clients are built from the same code in fosrl/windows-linux. The tray menu, login flow, and settings window match what you already see on Windows, so a team that uses both gets the same experience on each.

From the tray menu you can log in, connect and disconnect, switch accounts and organizations, pick an exit node, and open the status view to see connected sites. The More menu has Check for Updates… and Install Pangolin CLI….

Preferences… opens the settings window. It has tabs for preferences, connection status, accounts, logs, and version info.

Admins can set defaults for every user on a machine in /etc/pangolin-client/pangolin.json, and users can override most keys in ~/.config/pangolin-client/pangolin.json. The keys are the same ones the Windows client uses, so existing config can be reused. See the Linux client docs for the full list.

When a new version is out, Pangolin Update Available… appears in the tray menu. Installing it downloads the new package, checks it against Pangolin's signed update manifest, and installs it with apt-get, dnf, zypper, rpm, or pacman, depending on how you installed it.

GNOME, KDE Plasma, and XFCE

On KDE Plasma and XFCE the tray icon shows up with no setup. Cinnamon and Budgie work the same way.

GNOME has no system tray, so the package includes a GNOME Shell extension that adds a Pangolin button to the top bar. Click it to open the Pangolin menu, or right-click it to quit. GNOME doesn't turn on new extensions automatically, so log out and back in once after installing, then enable it in the Extensions app or run:

gnome-extensions enable pangolin@pangolin.net

CLI Companion Mode

If you also use Pangolin CLI, it now runs in companion mode when the desktop app is installed. The CLI uses the app's login and tunnel, so you sign in once in the app and run CLI commands as that same account. There's no separate pangolin login.

You can install the CLI from the tray under More > Install Pangolin CLI…. It goes to /usr/local/bin/pangolin. Members of the sudo, wheel, or admin group can install it directly, and other users are asked for an administrator's password.

With the app logged in and connected, commands like SSH to a private SSH resource just work:

pangolin ssh username@alias

The CLI follows the account, organization, and exit node selected in the app, so you change those in the app. While companion mode is on, pangolin login, pangolin logout, and pangolin select are blocked. Run pangolin companion status to see the current state.

If you'd rather have the CLI keep its own login, switch companion mode off:

pangolin companion disable

Turn it back on later with pangolin companion enable. On machines without the desktop app, the CLI works as it always has.

Get Started

Download Pangolin for Linux and log in with your Pangolin Cloud account or your self-hosted Pangolin instance. Install steps, config keys, and uninstall instructions are in the Linux client docs. The source is on GitHub at fosrl/windows-linux, and bug reports are welcome there.