I love how this went from ".deb" to "Mullvad VPN repo configuration" 🤣
this post was submitted on 19 May 2025
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The answer is going vary by package. If the deb file adds a repo containing updates for itself, then yes. If not, then no.
I assumed it's not the case since mullvad states it's not meant to be used on mont, but is there a way to check?
Look at the files in /etc/apt/sources.list and /etc/apt/sources.list.d.
you can also just check dpkg -L $installed_package_name | grep /etc/apt/ to find files that would have been installed by the package there.
Where does mullvad say it's not meant to be used on Mint ? I literally have it running on 5 mint devices.
Can't see that on their website at a quick search
Saying it is not supported is not the same as not meant to be used
In fact to the contrary this references install for mint
https://mullvad.net/en/help/install-mullvad-app-linux
Got to the section that says
"Download and install the app"
For a command line explanation
Honestly though just download the .deb and double click on it out of the folder to get debi to install. It's all gui and easy
Mint is Debian based. Mullvad supports debian.
Further to this, mullvad vpn and browser are now in the Mint store.
Download and install from there
EDIT
Apols, they're not, I checked on the machine I had faffed around with to get the mullvad repo working. Please ignore
Generally, no. Apt gets its packages from the repositories, so unless (i) your .deb package gets added to those repositories, or (ii) you add a new repository that contains your package, it won't be updated.
some deb packages add new repositories to the system, so there's a possibility that just installing a deb package will ensure updates keep coming. if i recall correctly, that's what zoom does
Some .deb files do include repo information (e.g. Chrome), but most don't.
Thanks!
Mullvad repo doesn't work in mint. The .deb does not update automatically. You have to download it manually every time you want to update it.
I did get to install the Mullvad repo on Mint. The thing is they use the "lsb_release -cs" command which give the codename of Mint and not Ubuntu.
But if you use
awk -F= '$1=="UBUNTU_CODENAME" { print $2 ;}' /etc/os-release
It will give the codename for Ubuntu used by Mint.
Try this from the Mullvad instruction with this change :
# Download the Mullvad signing key
sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/mullvad-keyring.asc
# Add the Mullvad repository server to apt
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc arch=$( dpkg --print-architecture )] https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/stable $(awk -F= '$1=="UBUNTU_CODENAME" { print $2 ;}' /etc/os-release) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list
# Install the package
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mullvad-vpn
I'm already married, but, would you marry me? I'm guessing you're probably very useful to have around.
Ah, a Morman.
Haha, thanks for the kind words but I did forget to add the source. I did not figure this out by myself. The link
I just told my wife she's going to have to share now🤣
You give the info, and then a link to the source? There's still hope for humanity 😉
Thank you, kind stranger. I and many others probably would've never found this out.
Ok, thanks. Am I still notified by Mullvad whenever there's an update available? I've seen another user mention that it is the case.
Yep. (Though I'm going through Chaotic-AUR rather than Mullvad's own repo.) It does get a little annoying, but hey.
Yep it does that, and it gets annoying. I'm switching just because of that, just don't know where yet.
For mullvad vpn the client will tell you when there's an update available by a very obvious flag in the app that you click on to download it then click/double click on the file out of the downloads to get debi to install it.
To answer the broader question, where ever possible install apps via software manager, that way they are updated with apt / update manager.
I would suggest using flatpacks sparingly as they are disk hogs.
Thank you very much for this clear answer.
~~I'm not a Mint user but I would assume the Ubuntu/Debian install instructions on Mullvad would work on Mint as well~~
~~https://mullvad.net/en/download/vpn/linux~~
My bad, just read further in mullvads documentation and they do state that Mint requires manual installation. If I understand it correctly you will need to follow these instructions to install updates as well.
https://mullvad.net/en/help/install-mullvad-app-linux#install-manual
It's reasonable advice. Mullvad is literally the only time I've found the ubuntu instructions to not work on mint
Prismlauncher has a similar issue, basically you have to sort of "convert" the Ubuntu instructions, thankfully there's a flatpak.
Does mullvad use a proprietary VPN implementation? I'd just use openvpn and their config file. Maybe gluetun.
Mullvad implements Wireguard under the hood. I think they have some OpenVPN endpoints, too.
I’m currently running mint cinnamon (how original, I know), and asking because i can’t seem to add mullvad-vpn stable repo.
What's the problem? Mint is based on Ubuntu, use the corresponding Ubuntu repo (noble in case of Mint 22.1).
Doesn't always work - for example the mullvad browser won't install on mint with the ubuntu instructions as OS version gets reported as Xia not noble (if I'm recalling the issue correctly it was 6-9 months ago)
Yes you can amend the commands to get it to work but it's definitely not beginner level, I had to faff around for an hour or so before I worked it out
What do you mean by "won't install"? If you install it with apt from repo, apt doesn't check the distro codename, it just checks if the package dependencies are satisfied.
Really sorry, it's too long ago to remember the exact error,
but IIRC
when you followed the ubuntu instructions for adding the repository it would kick an error because the command included a reference to noble and mint os name is xia so the contents of the osrelease when checked didnt match and it threw an error.
Could be wrong, I didnt document it.
The work around was to edit the commands.
All a moot point now as
a) the instructions now on the mullvad site don't reference noble and
~~b) mullvad now appears to be in the mint store (which is how you should always install if possible~~
Not correct, only true if you've manually added the repo
disclaimer
I'm a Debian user and not a Mullvad user. When installing software, I carefully read instructions and almost never follow them because in most cases I know how to deal with my distro better than developers.
There is a repo for noble, I've checked this before writing my answer. It is always possible to edit apt sources config manually and specify any repo you want regardless your distro codename. IDK what is Mint Store, isn't it about flatpacks that TS doesn't want to use?
Ok we're talking at cross purposes.
Yes, mullvad has a noble repo, it doesnt have a xia repo (which is the mint equivalent version name)
Attempting to add the mullvad repo using the old ubuntu instructions failed because noble =/= xia
Yes you can work around that but its not beginner level.
Op asked if Flatpaks was the answer whivh imho it isnt, the best answer is downloading the .deb
Flatpak has annoyances like sometimes not following your icon theme, or just generally looking out of place because not picking up system defaults.
It works but I avoid it. On Arch Linux, there is a huge AUR repository where users have made native packages, and thats usually much better than Flatpak. But on Ubuntu, Flatpak is the only option sometimes.
For me its been almost 0%. :) Very happy with it.
@1984 Glad for you. I think some of my issues arise from the fact that I only use it occasionally, keys get stale.