How to choose, use and configure a VPN in SteamOS (My opinion)

Choosing the Right VPN for SteamOS

SteamOS users are predominantly gamers looking to protect their network traffic without introducing latency spikes. The latest SteamOS 3.x (Holo) for the Steam Deck is built on an Arch-based rolling-release, using pacman as its package manager, KDE Plasma for the desktop environment (in desktop mode) and a read-only root filesystem managed via OSTree. This unique setup means any VPN must:

Offer a native or AUR pacman package (or a Flatpak) for easy installation.
Support WireGuard or OpenVPN CLI tools, since GUI clients may not run in gaming mode.
Provide a reliable killswitch and low-latency protocols to keep gaming smooth.

Based on those criteria, the most suitable VPNs for SteamOS are:

Mullvad VPN – Native WireGuard support, AUR package and Flatpak, minimal setup.
ProtonVPN – Official CLI tool, supports WireGuard/OpenVPN, good Linux docs.
NordVPN – Provides an Arch-compatible CLI in AUR, features multi-hop and killswitch.

Comparison Table

Provider	Protocols	CLI Support	Flatpak	Multi-Hop	Killswitch	Native AUR/Repo
Mullvad VPN	WireGuard, OpenVPN	Yes (mullvad-cli)	Yes	No	Yes	AUR
ProtonVPN	WireGuard, OpenVPN	Yes (protonvpn-cli)	No	No	Yes	Official repo (via pacman) / AUR
NordVPN	NordLynx (WireGuard), OpenVPN	Yes (nordvpn)	No	Yes	Yes	AUR

Installing and Configuring Your VPN

Below are step-by-step guides for the three top contenders on SteamOS. You can run these commands from a desktop session or via SSH. Remember to reopen your session or source your shell after installation.

Mullvad VPN

Enable the AUR helper of your choice (for example yay).
Install the Mullvad CLI package:

sudo pacman -Sy --needed base-devel git
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si
yay -S mullvad-vpn-bin

mullvad login YOUR-ACCOUNT-NUMBER

Connect using WireGuard:

mullvad connect wireguard

Enable the killswitch and auto-connect at boot:

sudo systemctl enable --now mullvad-daemon
mullvad config set killswitch on
mullvad config set autoconnect on

ProtonVPN

Install the official repository and CLI:

# Enable multilib if not already
sudo pacman -Syu
sudo pacman -S openvpn dialog python-pip
pip install protonvpn-cli

Initialize the CLI and log in:

protonvpn-cli login youremail@example.com

List available servers and connect:

protonvpn-cli c --sc quickest

To enable WireGuard instead of OpenVPN, fetch the config from your account page and run:

protonvpn-cli config wireguard
protonvpn-cli c --protocol wireguard

NordVPN

Install the AUR package:

yay -S nordvpn-bin

nordvpn login

Set preferred protocol and enable features:

nordvpn set protocol nordlynx
nordvpn set killswitch on
nordvpn set autoconnect on

Connect to a server:

nordvpn connect

Conclusion

All three VPN services—Mullvad, ProtonVPN and NordVPN—offer robust support for SteamOS’s Arch-based environment, reliable CLI tools, WireGuard speed and essential safety features like a killswitch. Mullvad stands out for simplicity and Flatpak availability, ProtonVPN delivers an official CLI installer, and NordVPN adds multi-hop for extra privacy. Choose whichever aligns best with your workflow and latency requirements, and enjoy secure, unrestricted gaming on SteamOS.

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