Arch Linux User Repository

Please note that, as of version 4.0, ExpressVPN have switched to a new "universal installer" which replaces their previous distro-specific packages (.deb/.rpm/.pkg) and bypasses package managers entirely (mostly dumping stuff to /opt). I have rewritten the PKGBUILD to repackage what this new installer does so it can still be tracked by pacman, but there's no telling how well this will work going forward (particularly since this new version supposedly has a self-updater built in.)

The new ExpressVPN version is still in beta, so I've not pushed an update to this package yet, if you're interested in testing it out, it's available at https://codeberg.org/WorMzy/aur-packages/src/branch/main/expressvpn

Note: you may need to flush your iptables rules after upgrading in order to restore internet access, use iptables -F to do so.

Info from expressvpn's site ...

wget https://www.expressvpn.com/expressvpn_release_public_key_0xAFF2A1415F6A3A38.asc

gpg --import expressvpn_release_public_key_0xAFF2A1415F6A3A38.asc

All installed fine; thank you very much for maintaining.

@WorMzy I am running a pretty standard Manjaro setup and the PKGBUILD you wrote seems to be working out of the box.

4.0.1 beta update pushed to codeberg: https://codeberg.org/WorMzy/aur-packages/src/branch/main/expressvpn

Please do let me know if you get it working, pendo324. I don't allow gtk3 on my systems, so can't test chrom{e,ium} or firefox browser plugins, but if there are some improvements to make to the PKGBUILD to help people who do use these browsers, I'd be happy to include them.

From testing the upcoming 4.0 package:

Seems like the /opt/expressvpn/share/browser_helper_wrapper.sh script doesn't work properly with the native messaging host config:

{
  "name": "com.expressvpn.helper",
  "description": "ExpressVPN Browser Helper",
  "path": "/opt/expressvpn/share/browser_helper_wrapper.sh",
  "type": "stdio",
  "allowed_extensions": [
    "firefox-addon@expressvpn.com",
    "firefox-addon-internal@expressvpn.com",
    "firefox-pwm-alpha@expressvpn.com",
    "firefox-pwm-beta@expressvpn.com",
    "firefox-pwm-release@expressvpn.com"
  ]
}

It prints stderr output from native app com.expressvpn.helper: 2025/02/27 12:28:19 unauthorized access attempt

I couldn't find the source code for the included /opt/expressvpn/bin/browser_helper Go executable, so I haven't been able to fix this yet (may not be possible?)

Please note that, as of version 4.0, ExpressVPN have switched to a new "universal installer" which replaces their previous distro-specific packages (.deb/.rpm/.pkg) and bypasses package managers entirely (mostly dumping stuff to /opt). I have rewritten the PKGBUILD to repackage what this new installer does so it can still be tracked by pacman, but there's no telling how well this will work going forward (particularly since this new version supposedly has a self-updater built in.)

The new ExpressVPN version is still in beta, so I've not pushed an update to this package yet, if you're interested in testing it out, it's available at https://codeberg.org/WorMzy/aur-packages/src/branch/main/expressvpn

Note: you may need to flush your iptables rules after upgrading in order to restore internet access, use iptables -F to do so.

So, is this supposed to work on Manjaro as well? I have a fresh install and after activating the vpn, the connection is fine until it randomly drops, despite showing still connected. I have to disconnect and reconnect about once every 10 minutes.

Some older comments reference different solutions for this, but I thought I'd go ahead and say that if you have NetworkManager and experience occasional DNS errors that require you to reconnect expressvpn manually, I needed to prevent NetworkManager from editing /etc/resolv.conf, which seemed to occur whenever I had any connection hiccups. I didn't realize that expressvpn and NetworkManager were fighting over owning this file.

I used the solution from https://askubuntu.com/questions/623940/network-manager-how-to-stop-nm-updating-etc-resolv-conf by adding this to /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf:

[main]
dns=none
rc-manager=unmanaged

@marakasmalan: No. At a guess your /var/lib/expressvpn/userdata2.dat is getting corrupted at shutdown. Is it possible your filesystem is damaged and/or the underlying hardware is degraded?

every time the system reboots I have to reactivate expressvpn, is that normal?

Pinned instructions do not work for me. Still fails complaining about PGP signatures ` [root@arch ~]# gpg --import expressvpn_release_public_key_0xAFF2A1415F6A3A38.asc gpg: /root/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created gpg: key AFF2A1415F6A3A38: public key "ExpressVPN Release release@expressvpn.com" imported gpg: Total number processed: 1 gpg: imported: 1 [root@arch ~]# yay -S expressvpn -> Avoid running yay as root/sudo. AUR Explicit (1): expressvpn-3.57.1.2_1-1 :: PKGBUILD up to date, skipping download: expressvpn 1 expressvpn (Build Files Exist) ==> Packages to cleanBuild? ==> [N]one [A]ll [Ab]ort [I]nstalled [No]tInstalled or (1 2 3, 1-3, ^4) ==> 1 expressvpn (Build Files Exist) ==> Diffs to show? ==> [N]one [A]ll [Ab]ort [I]nstalled [No]tInstalled or (1 2 3, 1-3, ^4) ==> ==> Making package: expressvpn 3.57.1.2_1-1 (Mon Nov 6 12:37:32 2023) ==> Retrieving sources... -> Found expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb -> Found expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb.asc ==> WARNING: Skipping verification of source file PGP signatures. ==> Validating source_x86_64 files with sha512sums... expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb ... Passed expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb.asc ... Skipped :: (1/1) Parsing SRCINFO: expressvpn gpg: directory '/tmp/.gnupg' created gpg: keybox '/tmp/.gnupg/pubring.kbx' created gpg: /tmp/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created gpg: error reading key: No public key

:: PGP keys need importing: -> 1D0B09AD6C93FEE93FDDBD9DAFF2A1415F6A3A38, required by: expressvpn :: Import? [Y/n] :: Importing keys with gpg... gpg: directory '/tmp/.gnupg' created gpg: keybox '/tmp/.gnupg/pubring.kbx' created gpg: /tmp/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created gpg: key AFF2A1415F6A3A38: public key "ExpressVPN Release release@expressvpn.com" imported gpg: Total number processed: 1 gpg: imported: 1 ==> Making package: expressvpn 3.57.1.2_1-1 (Mon Nov 6 12:37:44 2023) ==> Checking runtime dependencies... ==> Checking buildtime dependencies... ==> Retrieving sources... -> Found expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb -> Found expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb.asc ==> Validating source_x86_64 files with sha512sums... expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb ... Passed expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb.asc ... Skipped ==> Verifying source file signatures with gpg... expressvpn_3.57.1.2-1_amd64.deb ... FAILED (unknown public key AFF2A1415F6A3A38) ==> ERROR: One or more PGP signatures could not be verified! -> error making: expressvpn-exit status 1 -> Failed to install the following packages. Manual intervention is required: expressvpn - exit status 1 [root@arch ~]# `