Recently received my Steam Deck and decided to try to install a VPN on it, specifically NordVPN. Also decided to do the same on a Raspberry PI 4 running Manjaro (ARM). Follow the instructions here to prepare the Steam Deck to install Arch packages.
Installation
Refresh/sync with the package registry:
sudo pacman -Syu
If you run into any errors regarding keys, you may have to google that error to refresh your key ring or reinstall archlinux-key ring. This was the case for the Raspberry PI 4: sudo pacman -S archlinux-keyring.
NordVPN isn't currently available through pacman, but it is through the ArchUser Repository (AUR). We'll install an AUR helper (yay).
Manjaro via Raspberry Pi 4:
pamac install yay
Steam Deck:
sudo pacman -S yay
Answer Yes for the prompts.
Note to find out where applications are installed you can use which command (ie which yay).
yay -S nordvpn-bin
Verify that package was installed:
pacman -Qs nordvpn
Enable and start the service:
sudo systemctl enable nordvpnd
sudo systemctl start nordvpnd
Configuration
Ensure that nordlynx (WireGuard) is enabled as it provides lower latency, higher speeds and better connection stability.
sudo nordvpn set technology nordlynx
You may also wont to enable the killswitch which disables all outgoing/incoming connections if the VPN is disconnected.
sudo nordvpn set killswitch enable
Check your current settings:
sudo nordvpn settings
Check your status:
sudo nordvpn status
Test DNS Leakage
You may also want to test test for any DNS Leakages. By default NordVPN adds it's own DNS servers to your resolv.conf:
cat /etc/resolv.conf
You should see the same one noted on NordVPN's DNS server addresses.
If you're connected the VPN with some country other than you're own, you should see the corresponding DNS Server location show up on dnsleaktest.com.
Login
Normally on platforms that support the native NordVPN application, the login directs you to a browser for login. After logging you get redirected back to the app. However, with the command-line login, this isn't automatic. Using the only nordvpn login you'll be presented with a URL which, if opened will let you login through the browser.
Either use the legacy or the callback option/arg:
sudo nordvpn login --legacy
sudo nordvpn login --callback "nordvpn://success-uri-I-copied-from-browser"
Connect
See this list of NordVPN servers.
sudo nordvpn connect [[country]/[server]/[country_code]/[city] or [country] [city]]
Example
sudo nordvpn connect us
sudo nordvpn disconnect