Simple OpenVPN Launcher (vpn-menu)

This project provides a small Bash script to manage OpenVPN connections with a simple menu or direct commands.
It supports starting, stopping, and checking the status of .ovpn profiles, including those stored in subfolders, and handles spaces in filenames.
The script stores runtime state and PID files in /run for clean process management.

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🚀 Features

• Interactive menu (start, stop, status)
• Non-interactive CLI usage (vpn-menu start "Profile")
• Supports spaces in profile filenames and directories
• Tracks runtime with PID and state files under /run
• Auto-elevates with sudo if not run as root
• Designed for one VPN connection at a time (safe and predictable)
• Clean installer and uninstaller scripts

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✅ Requirements

• Linux
• OpenVPN installed and in your PATH
• Common tools: bash, find, xargs, pgrep, sudo
• Root privileges (script re-execs with sudo automatically)

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🛠️ Installation

Clone or download the repo and run:

./install-vpn-menu.sh

This will install vpn-menu into /usr/local/bin.

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🧼 Uninstallation

To remove everything:

./uninstall-vpn-menu.sh

You will be asked whether to delete PID/state and log files.

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📁 Configuration

By default, the script looks for .ovpn files in:

~/VPNs/

Recommended structure:

~/VPNs/
├── Try Hack Me/
│   └── Try Hack Me.ovpn
└── Hack The Box/
    └── Hack The Box.ovpn

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⚙️ Usage

Interactive

vpn-menu

Non-interactive

vpn-menu start                 # choose from list
vpn-menu start "Try Hack Me"   # start specific profile (omit .ovpn)
vpn-menu stop
vpn-menu status
vpn-menu -h / --help

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📌 Behavior

• start: prompts for a profile unless one is supplied
• stop: stops the currently running OpenVPN instance
• status: shows the active profile and PID

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🗂️ Runtime Files

The script writes temporary state to /run:

• /run/openvpn-<slug>.pid — PID of the OpenVPN process
• /run/openvpn-<slug>.state — full path to the profile used

These are automatically removed when the VPN is stopped.

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🧯 Troubleshooting

• No profiles listed: ensure .ovpn files exist under $VPN_DIR
• "Another OpenVPN is running": use vpn-menu stop first
• Permission errors: run with sudo, or ensure you installed correctly
• unknown profile shown: ensure .state file was created correctly

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.
You are free to use, modify, and distribute this software with proper attribution.