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Ronny Esterluss edited this page Jun 11, 2026 · 8 revisions

How do I install Gnosis VPN on macOS?

  • download latest GnosisVPN-Installer.pkg from releases
  • double click to run the installer

How do I uninstall Gnosis VPN on macOS?

This step is mandatory when installing a newer version of Gnosis VPN. The older version should be first uninstalled.

  • in a terminal run sudo /Library/Application\ Support/GnosisVPN/uninstall.sh

How do I restart Gnosis VPN client service on macOS?

  • in a terminal run sudo launchctl kickstart -k system/com.gnosisvpn.gnosisvpnclient

Where is the Gnosis VPN identity stored on a Mac OS?

  • The identity is stored in /Library/Application\ Support/GnosisVPN/.config

To get there do:

sudo su
cd /Library/Application\ Support/GnosisVPN/

Which files and folders does the installer create and where does it deviate from defaults?

Directories created by the installer

Folder Purpose Owner Permissions Default Value / Notes macOS best practice
/Library/Application Support/GnosisVPN/ Application state and home directory gnosisvpn:gnosisvpn 0750 Service working directory; also set as TMPDIR and HOME for the daemon ✓ Standard — /Library/Application Support/<AppName>/ is the Apple-recommended location for system-wide application state
/Library/Logs/GnosisVPN/ Service log directory gnosisvpn:gnosisvpn 0755 gnosisvpn.log written here; rotated via newsyslog at 100 MB, 10 copies ✓ Standard — /Library/Logs/ is the Apple-recommended location for application logs visible in Console.app
/Library/Logs/GnosisVPN/installer/ Installer log directory root:wheel 0755 installer.log written during install/uninstall steps ✓ Reasonable sub-directory of the main log folder
/etc/gnosisvpn/ Configuration directory root:gnosisvpn — Network config templates and config.toml symlink; /etc is a symlink to /private/etc on macOS Differs — the macOS convention for system-wide app config is /Library/Application Support/<AppName>/ or /Library/Preferences/; using /etc/ mirrors the Linux layout but is not idiomatic on macOS
/etc/gnosisvpn/templates/ Network config templates root:gnosisvpn — jura.toml.template, rotsee.toml.template, dufour.toml.template Same concern as /etc/gnosisvpn/ above — non-idiomatic on macOS

Key files placed into existing system directories

Path Purpose Default macOS best practice
/usr/local/bin/gnosis_vpn-root Main VPN daemon binary root:wheel, 0750 ✓ Acceptable — /usr/local/bin/ is the standard location for third-party system binaries on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon both support it)
/usr/local/bin/gnosis_vpn-worker Worker process binary root:gnosisvpn, 0750 ✓ Same as above
/usr/local/bin/gnosis_vpn-ctl CLI control tool gnosisvpn:gnosisvpn, 0755 ✓ Same as above
/usr/local/bin/gnosis_vpn-manager Management utility script root:gnosisvpn, 0755 Workable, but a helper script installed to /usr/local/bin/ is unusual — /usr/local/sbin/ would better signal that it is an admin-only tool
/usr/local/bin/{wg,wg-quick,wireguard-go} Bundled WireGuard tools root:wheel, 0755 Acceptable; bundling avoids dependency on a separate WireGuard install, but the binaries must be kept up to date independently
/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.gnosisvpn.gnosisvpnclient.plist LaunchDaemon service definition Loaded and enabled at boot, runs as root ✓ Standard — /Library/LaunchDaemons/ is the correct location for system-wide daemons that start at boot before login
/etc/newsyslog.d/gnosisvpn.conf Log rotation policy 100 MB threshold, 10 rotations; /etc → /private/etc ✓ Standard — /etc/newsyslog.d/ is the correct drop-in location for newsyslog (macOS log rotation)
/etc/sudoers.d/gnosis-vpn Sudoers drop-in for launchctl operations Allows gnosisvpn group to run specific launchctl subcommands without password; root:wheel, 0440 ✓ Standard location — macOS includes /etc/sudoers.d/ by default; 0440 is the required permission for sudoers files
/etc/gnosisvpn/config.toml Symlink to active network config Points to templates/jura.toml.template (default network: jura) Same concern as /etc/gnosisvpn/ — non-idiomatic location on macOS; the symlink pattern itself is acceptable
/Applications/Gnosis VPN.app GUI application bundle Extracted from archive during postinstall; root:admin, 0755 ✓ Standard — /Applications/ is the correct location for system-wide macOS application bundles
/var/run/gnosisvpn.pid Daemon PID file Written by the daemon at startup Redundant on macOS — launchd tracks process lifecycle natively; PID files are a Unix convention that launchd makes unnecessary

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