How to choose, use and configure a VPN in Tiny Core Linux (Comparison)

Choosing the Right VPN for Tiny Core Linux

Tiny Core Linux is beloved by advanced users for its extreme minimalism: it boots in just a few megabytes, uses the tce (Tiny Core Extensions) package manager, and typically runs lightweight window managers such as FLTK/FLWM, JWM or Openbox. Memory and disk footprints are tiny, BusyBox is ubiquitous, and everything loads into RAM at boot. That means any VPN client must be:

Extremely lightweight, with minimal dependencies.
Available as a static binary or TCE extension (.tcz), or easy to compile from source.
Configurable entirely via command line (no bulky GUIs).

With those constraints in mind, the most suitable options are:

WireGuard: A modern kernel-level VPN with minimal user-space tooling (wireguard-tools), tiny codebase, fast performance.
OpenVPN: Battle-tested, pure user-space, static builds available. Works well with commercial providers’ config files.
Mullvad VPN: A privacy-focused provider offering both WireGuard and OpenVPN configs that integrate easily on Tiny Core.

Comparison of Top VPN Solutions

Name	Protocols	tce Availability	CLI Only	Ideal for	Website
WireGuard	WireGuard	wireguard-tools.tcz	Yes	Performance-minded, kernel integration	wireguard.com
OpenVPN	OpenVPN (UDP/TCP)	openvpn.tcz	Yes	Maximum compatibility, config-file based	openvpn.net
Mullvad VPN	WireGuard, OpenVPN	Use official configs	Yes	Privacy-focused commercial VPN	mullvad.net

Installing and Configuring WireGuard

1. Install the tools

tce-load -wi wireguard-tools

This brings in the wg and wg-quick binaries. You’ll also need the kernel modules if your Tiny Core kernel doesn’t include wireguard.ko, install the matching linux-headers extension or compile it yourself.

2. Create your WireGuard config

Edit /opt/wg0.conf:

[Interface]
PrivateKey = 
Address = 10.0.0.2/24
DNS = 1.1.1.1

[Peer]
PublicKey = 
Endpoint = vpn.example.com:51820
AllowedIPs = 0.0.0.0/0

3. Bring up the tunnel

wg-quick up wg0

To tear it down:

wg-quick down wg0

Installing and Configuring OpenVPN with Mullvad

1. Install OpenVPN

tce-load -wi openvpn

2. Download Mullvad config files

Go to Mullvad OpenVPN configs, extract into /opt/mullvad:

mkdir -p /opt/mullvad
cd /opt/mullvad
wget https://mullvad.net/download/opensvpn-config/latest/ -O mullvad.zip
unzip mullvad.zip

3. Create a credentials file

echo  > auth.txt
echo m >> auth.txt    # Dummy password
chmod 600 auth.txt

4. Start OpenVPN session

openvpn --config us-wireguard.mullvad.net.udp.ovpn --auth-user-pass auth.txt

Replace us-wireguard.mullvad.net.udp.ovpn with your chosen server file. The tunnel becomes your new default route.

Wrapping Up

For Tiny Core Linux, the leanest options are to run WireGuard natively, or fall back on a static OpenVPN client using configs from a provider like Mullvad. Both integrate smoothly with the tce ecosystem and remain fully command-line driven—perfect for an environment where every megabyte counts.

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