Amnezia VPN on a PC: how to install it on Windows, Mac and Linux and add a config file

Amnezia VPN on a PC is installed from a file on the project's own page: an .exe installer for Windows, a .pkg for Mac, a .run for Linux. The program itself provides no servers: after installing it you add a connection, either your own server or a config file from someone who has one. Below: which of the two Amnezia clients to pick, exactly what to download for your system, how to add the file, and where our own file is checked on a computer and where it is not yet. Everything here is as of 4 October 2026.

AmneziaVPN or AmneziaWG: which client to install

Two different programs from the same project live under the name “Amnezia” on a computer. Picking the wrong one is not a disaster, but it is easier to take the one that fits your task from the start.

If in doubt, start with AmneziaWG: it opens a config file just as well, with nothing extra. How AmneziaWG differs from plain WireGuard, and why a plain WireGuard client cannot open such a file, is covered in “AmneziaWG: what it is”.

Windows: which file to download

• AmneziaVPN. The file AmneziaVPN_5.0.3.0_windows_x64.exe from the releases page of github.com/amnezia-vpn/amnezia-client (release 5.0.3.0 of 18 September 2026; the Windows button on amnezia.org leads to the same file). There is one build, for 64-bit Windows. According to the project's documentation the install folder cannot be changed (C:\Program Files\AmneziaVPN), Windows will ask permission to make changes, and a restart is recommended afterwards.
• AmneziaWG. From the releases page of github.com/amnezia-vpn/amneziawg-windows-client, release 3.1.0 of 21 August 2026: amneziawg-amd64-3.1.0.msi for an ordinary Intel or AMD computer, amneziawg-arm64-3.1.0.msi for Windows on an ARM processor, amneziawg-x86-3.1.0.msi for a 32-bit system.

Your Windows edition and processor are shown in Settings → System → About, the “System type” line, just as when choosing a file in “A VPN for Windows”.

Mac: a pkg from GitHub or AmneziaWG from the App Store

• AmneziaVPN. The file AmneziaVPN_5.0.3.0_macos_x64.pkg from the same releases page. The project states the minimum system differently in two places: the 5.0.3.0 release notes say macOS 13 or newer (for macOS 10.15 to 12 the build is “temporarily unavailable”), the documentation says macOS 14 or newer. If you had version 4.8.8.2 or older installed from a .dmg, the release notes say to move it to the Bin first.
• AmneziaWG. From the App Store: publisher Privacy Technologies OU, free. As of 4 October 2026 it is available in the Russian App Store too, version 3.1.4. The documentation asks for macOS 12 or newer, which is why the project recommends AmneziaWG instead of AmneziaVPN on older Macs.

If macOS refuses to open the downloaded file, the steps are the same as for any program from outside the App Store: see the Mac article.

Linux: an installer or tools in the terminal

Linux has two paths, and they suit different people.

• AmneziaVPN with a window. The file AmneziaVPN_5.0.3.0_linux_x64.run, x64 only. The documentation lists the tested distributions: Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04 and 26.04, Debian 12 and 13, Fedora 41 to 44. On Ubuntu a few libraries must be installed before running it (the list is in the release notes), and the project advises against disabling IPv6 in the system: it breaks the connect button.
• AmneziaWG in the terminal. The kernel module and amneziawg-tools: on Ubuntu from ppa:amnezia/ppa (package amneziawg), on Fedora from the COPR amneziavpn/amneziawg; full instructions are in the README of the amneziawg-linux-kernel-module repository on GitHub. The commands match WireGuard's: awg and awg-quick instead of wg and wg-quick.

We have checked the second path ourselves: this is how our config file comes up on Linux. You need tools version 3.0 or newer, which awg --version shows.

How to add a config file

After installation the client is empty. A connection appears once you add a .conf file (or a key, or a QR code). The steps below follow the official Amnezia documentation; we have not walked through them on a live computer.

• AmneziaVPN, any system: the start button (or “+” if you already have connections) → “Connection settings file” → pick the file → “Continue” → “Connect”.
• AmneziaWG on Windows: “Add Tunnel” → “Import tunnel(s) from file” → pick the file → “Activate”.
• AmneziaWG on Mac: “Import tunnel(s) from file” → pick the file → “Import”; macOS will ask permission to add VPN configurations — “Allow”.
• Linux in the terminal: sudo awg-quick up followed by the path to the file; to stop it, sudo awg-quick down with the same path.

Three rules for any client:

1. One file, one device. The same file on a laptop and a desktop will come up on both and work on neither: why the connection breaks on both.
2. The file is a key. It holds the secret PrivateKey line: do not forward it, and do not take “free configs” from public channels; the Amnezia documentation gives the same warning.
3. Do not edit fields by hand. Half the lines must match the server exactly; what you may touch and what you may not is in the config breakdown.

No server and no file yet? How to get one, by running your own server or taking ready settings, is covered in “How to set up Amnezia VPN”. Added a file but there is no handshake: five checks in order.

Mayak's file in Amnezia on a computer: what is checked

Your Mayak account area has a “File for Linux” card: pick a country, press “Get the file for Linux”, and you get a .conf file and a QR code. The file carries our AmneziaWG 3.1 traffic protection, including the header protection line (HeaderProtectionKey); a client that does not support it will not open the file.

Why we are careful on Windows and Mac. The account area says, next to the card, that third-party apps there do not accept this file yet: in August the released versions of Amnezia did not understand header protection. On 4 October 2026 we checked again, from the source code: in the AmneziaVPN 5.0.3.0 and AmneziaWG for Windows 3.1.0 releases that line is now read. But reading source code is not a connection. Until we bring up a live tunnel with this file on Windows and Mac, we will not promise it there. If you try it yourself, tell us how it went: your system, client and its version.

Two more properties of the file worth knowing in advance: you cannot download the same file again, since each new file for a country switches off the previous one, and the file takes one place in your plan, like another phone (help).

Mayak on a computer and a phone: what exists now

• Our own apps. One so far, for Android 7.0 and newer; as of 4 October 2026 version 0.7.40 both on the site and in Google Play. We have no app for Windows or Mac and give no dates.
• A computer. Windows and Mac: Happ (on Mac also INCY) with the subscription link from your account area; Linux: the AmneziaWG config file. What else to install on a computer, and how an app differs from a browser extension: “A VPN for a computer”.
• The service builds the settings. AmneziaWG 3.1 runs on all our exits, the server hands out the masking parameters, and the Android app switches to another path by itself if the first one does not get through (how it works).
• Plans differ by the number of devices: Start up to 3, Family up to 5, Max up to 10 (what it costs).

What we checked

• Amnezia releases and files: from GitHub data, 4 October 2026: AmneziaVPN 5.0.3.0 of 18 September (file names and sizes, release notes), AmneziaWG for Windows 3.1.0 of 21 August, amneziawg-tools v3.1.20260812.
• Where the amnezia.org buttons lead: from the code of the downloads page, 4 October 2026.
• AmneziaWG in the App Store: from Apple's catalogue for Russia, 4 October 2026: publisher, version 3.1.4, price.
• Whether the Amnezia clients read the header protection line: our check of the released versions' source code, 4 October 2026. That is reading code, not a live connection.
• Mayak's file on Linux: a live tunnel with amneziawg-tools; this is also how we check our own lines.
• Happ with a subscription link on Windows 11 and Mac: a live connection on 25 September 2026.

What we do not know

• Whether Mayak's file comes up in AmneziaVPN or AmneziaWG on Windows and Mac. Not checked with a live tunnel.
• What the install windows and menu items really look like. The steps here follow Amnezia's official help and were not checked on a live computer; names may change in new releases.
• How the AmneziaVPN build for Mac runs on Apple chips. The file is called macos_x64, the release notes say nothing about chips, and we have not run it.
• Whether AmneziaVPN works on Windows 10. The project does not name Windows versions for 5.0.3.0; we have not checked.
• How the connection will behave on your network. Only you can see that, which is what the trial is for.

Quick answers

How do I install Amnezia VPN on a PC? Download the installer for your system from the project's page, run it, and add a connection to the program: a .conf file, a key or your own server. Files for each system are above.

Where can I download Amnezia VPN for a computer for free? On amnezia.org or the GitHub releases page; the program is free. How to avoid a fake and what the app stores carry: “Where to download Amnezia VPN”.

How does AmneziaVPN differ from AmneziaWG? AmneziaVPN is a full program with several protocols and installation on your own server; AmneziaWG is a lightweight client for ready AmneziaWG files only.

Can Amnezia open a WireGuard file? AmneziaVPN, according to its documentation, accepts WireGuard-format .conf files. The reverse does not work: a plain WireGuard client will not open an AmneziaWG file.

Will Mayak's file work in Amnezia on Windows? We have not checked it with a live tunnel, so we do not promise it. On Windows our path is Happ with a subscription link; on Linux the file is checked.

Do I need my own server? No, if a service gives you the config file. Your own server is for people ready to pay for it and keep it updated: what that work involves.