bubble/dist-README.md

Bubble: a privacy-first VPN

Bubble helps you start and manage your own private VPN.

It also adds tools to this VPN to improve your Internet experience by modifying your traffic: to remove ads, block malware, and much more.

Operating System Support

Once your Bubble is running, any device can connect to it: Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, Android; if it supports VPN connections, it will probably work just fine.

However, to launch your own Bubble using this software, you will need a Linux machine to run the launcher. It probably works on MacOS, but it has not been tested and there are likely to be issues. Pull requests are welcome!

If you’d like to enjoy all the benefits of Bubble without going through this hassle, please try out the Bubble launching service available on bubblev.com. Any Bubble you launch from bubblev.com will also be “yours only” -- all Bubbles disconnect from their launcher during configuration.

Getting Started

Install OpenJDK 11

Install Java 11 from OpenJDK. It will probably be easier to install using an OS package, for example sudo apt install openjdk-11-jre-headless

Install PostgreSQL and Redis

Install PostgreSQL 10 if it is not installed on your system. It will probably be easier to install using an OS package, for example sudo apt install postgresql

Install Redis if it is not already installed on your system. It will probably be easier to install using an OS package, for example sudo apt install redis

Configure PostgreSQL

The Bubble launcher connects to a PostgreSQL database named ‘bubble’ as the PostgreSQL user ‘bubble’.

If your current OS user account has permissions to create PostgreSQL databases and users, you can skip this step since the database and user will be created upon startup.

Otherwise, please either:

• Update the PostgreSQL pg_hba.conf file to allow your current OS user to create databases and DB users, OR
• Create a PostgreSQL database named bubble and a database user named bubble. Set a password for the bubble user, and set the environment variable BUBBLE_PG_PASSWORD to this password when starting the Bubble launcher.

Download a Bubble Distribution

Download and unzip the latest Bubble Distribution ZIP.

Start the Bubble launcher

Run the ./bin/run.sh script to start the Bubble launcher. Once the server is running, it will try to open a browser window to continue configuration. It will also print out the URL, so if the browser doesn’t start correctly, you can paste this into your browser’s location bar.

Activate your local Bubble

Your Bubble is running locally in a “blank” mode. It needs an initial “root” account and some basic services configured.

Activate via Web UI

The browser-based admin UI should be displaying an “Activate” page. Complete the information on this page and submit the data. The Bubble Launcher will create an initial “root” account and other basic system configurations.

Activate via command line

Copy the file in config/activation.json, then edit the file. There are comments in the file to guide you. After saving the updated file, run this command:

./bin/bactivate /path/to/activation.json

Launch a new Bubble!

Using the web UI, click “Bubbles”, select “New Bubble”. Fill out and submit the New Bubble form, and your Bubble will be created!