I spent some time figuring out how WireGuard works and found the guidelines, including the official ones, to be rather complex. So, I’m jotting down my learnings here.

If you can’t be bothered with all the key and config files, https://www.wireguardconfig.com/ provides one click setup for that with QR code.

Steps to Set Up WireGuard

  1. Install the package
  2. Add a virtual network interface
  3. Create key pairs and configuration files
  4. Update kernel configuration
  5. Configure systemctl for auto start

1. Install the Package

First, install the WireGuard package by running:

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apt install wireguard

2. Enable IP Forwarding

Uncomment net.ipv4.ip_forward=1 in /etc/sysctl.conf to allow IP forwarding. Then, apply the changes and confirm:

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sysctl -p
cat /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

3. Add the Virtual Interface

Add the virtual interface and assign a private IP address range:

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ip link add dev wg0 type wireguard
ip address add dev wg0 192.168.2.1/24

4. Generate Key Pairs

Generate the key pairs. You’ll need to paste the plain text, not the file path, later on:

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wg genkey | tee server-privatekey | wg pubkey > server-publickey
wg genkey | tee client-privatekey | wg pubkey > client-publickey

5. Create Server Configuration

Create /etc/wireguard/wg0.conf for the server:

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[Interface]
Address = 192.168.2.1/24
ListenPort = 51820
PrivateKey = <paste the content of server-privatekey here>
PostUp = iptables -A FORWARD -i %i -j ACCEPT; iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
PostDown = iptables -D FORWARD -i %i -j ACCEPT; iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

[Peer]
PublicKey = <paste the content of client-publickey here>
AllowedIPs = 192.168.2.2/32

Update eth0 to the internal connected interface if different.

6. Test the Server

Test run the server:

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wg-quick up wg0
wg-quick down wg0

7. Enable Auto Start with systemctl

If it works fine, hand over control to systemctl:

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systemctl start wg-quick@wg0
systemctl enable wg-quick@wg0

Check the status:

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journalctl -xeu wg-quick@wg0.service

8. Create Client Configuration

Create client.conf for the client:

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[Interface]
DNS = 1.1.1.1
Address = 192.168.2.2/24
ListenPort = 51820
PrivateKey = <paste the content of client-privatekey here>

[Peer]
PublicKey = <paste the content of server-publickey here>
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0, ::/0
Endpoint = <server public IP here>:51820

9. Generate QR Code (Optional)

Optionally, create a QR code from client.conf for easy setup. Install qrencode:

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apt install qrencode

Then generate the QR code:

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qrencode -t ansiutf8 -r "client.conf"