Outline VPN on Your Server: Installation and Basic Configuration

This article provides instructions on installing and configuring Outline VPN on your server.

Outline VPN is a free, open-source tool allowing you to deploy your own VPN on your server or a cloud provider's machine. The Outline software package consists of two products that work based on modern technology via the Outline SDK:

Outline Manager connects your VPS server to the Outline system and generates and manages VPN keys. It is available for Linux, Windows, and MacOS.
Outline Client for using VPN keys. It works on iOS, Android, Linux, Windows, and MacOS.

IMPORTANT! One key can be used on one device at a time!

With the Outline service, anyone can set up their own VPN server to use the Internet without censorship, without fear for the security of their data. Working on the Internet with Outline VPN is safer, and the connection is much more difficult to detect and block.

Outline VPN Installation

Outline Server supports both self-hosting and cloud services, and installation involves running a command in the command line interface.

To install Outline VPN, you will need:

VPS server on Linux (Ubuntu)
Outline Manager
Outline Client

Step 1: Renting a Server

For simple tasks, such as opening websites, exchanging text messages in instant messengers, etc., a host with minimal resources will do:

1 CPU core.
1 GB RAM (less is possible).
10 GB HDD for OS files mainly.

Renting a VPS Linux from is*hosting will be an excellent solution due to its high performance, flexible management, and inexhaustible possibilities.

Step 2: Initial Server Setup

To set up a server for installing Outline VPN, do the following:

Open a command line by pressing the key combination "Ctrl+Alt+T" (Ubuntu).
In the command line that appears, install the latest updates.
```
sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade
```
After installing the updates, reboot the device.
To protect the machine from unauthorized access, configure the firewall.
```
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

sudo ufw allow 8080/tcp
```
Open SSH access with the following command:
```
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
```
You can only allow SSH access for a static IP for security purposes.
```
sudo ufw allow from <YourStaticIP> to any port 22
```
Enable the firewall.
```
sudo ufw enable
```
Congratulations! The initial server setup and security are complete.

Step 3: Installing Outline Server

Using ready-made scripts from the outline-server project to install Outline Server is convenient.

To install Docker, Outline services, and all dependencies, run the following command:

sudo wget -qO- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Jigsaw-Code/outline-server/master/src/server_manager/install_scripts/install_server.sh | bash

If you need to install Docker yourself before running the script, run the following command:
```
sudo curl https://get.docker.com | sh
```

When the script finishes, the following content will be output, which should be saved for later.

{ 

  "apiUrl": "https://0.0.0.0:0000/XXXXXXXXXXXX", 

  "certSha256": "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" 

}

Congratulations! The Outline VPN server is now installed, and you can start configuring it to meet your needs.

Step 4: Configuring and Managing the Server

To configure the server, follow these steps:

Download the Outline from the official website.
Download the Outline Manager application for your computer, which allows you to manage all settings centrally.
When running, add the server and select Set up Outline anywhere.
The program will give the installation instructions using the script and the key itself. Copy this key:
```
ss://XXXXXXXXXXXX@9.9.9.9:0/?outline=1
```
Install Outline Client.
When you first launch Outline Client, click Add Server.
Paste the key you received above and click CONFIRM.
Congratulations! Your Outline VPN is ready to use.

If you have any questions, you can ask them in the online chat in the lower right corner of the site or create a request to the support service through the ticket system.