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How to set up NordVPN on an OpenWRT router using NordVPN Lite?

Introduction

This article explains how to set up a NordVPN connection on your OpenWrt router using the NordVPN Lite (nordvpnlite) client via the LuCI web interface or the command-line interface (CLI).

Before you start

  • You will need an OpenWrt router with either LuCI enabled for the web interface steps or SSH access for the command-line steps.
  • You will need your Nord Account authentication token, which you can get by logging in to your Nord Account dashboard.
  • You will need to download the NordVPN Lite package that matches your router's architecture (aarch64, mipsel, or x86_64) from the NordVPN downloads page.

Here’s what to do

Using the LuCI web interface

  1. Download the package:
     
    1. Download the .ipk package that matches your router's CPU from the NordVPN downloads page to your computer.
       
  2. Install the package:
     
    1. Open the LuCI web interface in your browser: http://<router-ip>/ (often 192.168.1.1).
    2. Click "System" and then "Software."


       
    3. Click "Update lists."
    4. Under "Upload Package", select the downloaded .ipk file and click "Upload & Install."
      NOTE: If you only see a URL field, paste the direct link to the .ipk and install.
       
  3. Configure NordVPN Lite:
     
    1. Once the installation is complete, navigate to "System" and then "File Editor."
    2. In the "Path" field, enter /etc/nordvpnlite/config.json
    3. Paste the configuration below into the text field and click "Save": 
      NOTE: Replace YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE with the token from your Nord Account.
{
  "log_level": "error",
  "log_file_path": "/var/log/nordvpnlite.log",
  "adapter_type": "linux-native",
  "interface": {
    "name": "nordvpnlite",
    "max_route_priority": 6000,
    "config_provider": "uci"
  },
  "authentication_token": "YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE",
  "vpn": "recommended"
}
  1. Start the connection:
     
    1. Navigate to "System" and then "Startup."
    2. Find nordvpnlite in the list and click "Start."
       
  2. Verify the connection:
     
    • You can check the connection status in the LuCI web interface by navigating to "Status" and clicking "System Log" for connection messages.
    • You can also see the nordvpnlite interface under "Network" and clicking "Interfaces."

Using the command-line interface (CLI)

First, connect to your router via SSH by entering ssh root@<router-ip>. Then follow the steps below.

  1. Download the package:
     
    1. Enter the command below to download the package directly into the /tmp directory on your router. Replace <file-name>.ipk with the correct file URL from the downloads page: wget https://downloads.nordcdn.com/nordvpnlite/<file-name>.ipk -P /tmp
       
  2. Install the package:
     
    1. Update the package lists: opkg update.
    2. Install the package: opkg install /tmp/<file-name>.ipk.
       
  3. Configure NordVPN Lite:
     
    1. Create and edit the configuration file by entering the command below. 
      NOTE: Replace YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE with your actual token before you run the command. Keep your token secret:
cat >/etc/nordvpnlite/config.json <<'JSON'
{
 "log_level": "error",
 "log_file_path": "/var/log/nordvpnlite.log",
 "adapter_type": "linux-native",
 "interface": {
   "name": "nordvpnlite",
   "max_route_priority": 6000,
   "config_provider": "uci"
 },
 "authentication_token": "YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN_HERE",
 "vpn": "recommended"
}
JSON
  1. Start the connection:
     
    1. Enter the command: nordvpnlite start.
       
  2. Verify the connection:
     
    1. You can use the following commands to check your connection:
       
      1. nordvpnlite status — Shows the current connection status.
      2. ip <PERSON> nordvpnlite — Confirms that the nordvpnlite network interface is active.
      3. wget -qO- https://ipinfo.io/ip — Shows your current public IP address, which should be a NordVPN server IP.
         
  3. Change location:
     
    1. Edit the configuration file to change the VPN server location. For example, to connect to Germany, you would run: sed -i 's/"vpn": "recommended"/"vpn": { "country": "de" }/' /etc/nordvpnlite/config.json
    2. Restart the service to apply the new settings: nordvpnlite stop nordvpnlite start
    3. To see a list of all available country codes, run: nordvpnlite countries.
       
  4. Update or remove:
     
    1. To update: Download the newer .ipk package and install it using the same method as in steps 1 and 2. Your configuration file will be preserved.
    2. To remove: Enter the command opkg remove nordvpnlite.
       
  5. Stop the connection:
     
    • To disconnect from the VPN, run nordvpnlite stop.

Additional tips

  • If you have connection issues, recheck your authentication token, JSON syntax, and your router's time.
  • If the network interface is missing, make sure the service is started and that no other VPN client is using the same interface name.
  • For more detailed logs, temporarily set "log_level": "info" in the config file, restart the service, and review the log at /var/log/nordvpnlite.log.
  • nordvpnlite is open-sourced. You may visit the official GitHub project page and repository, which contains more information.

 

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