Tutorial: Import a Connection Profile Using the openvpn3-as Tool
Import an OpenVPN Access Server connection profile directly into OpenVPN 3 Linux using the openvpn3-as tool. Learn how to download, import, connect, and verify your VPN profile.
Overview
The openvpn3-as tool lets you download and import an OpenVPN Access Server connection profile (.ovpn) directly into OpenVPN 3 Linux.
The tool connects to your Access Server, prompts you for authentication credentials, downloads the appropriate connection profile, and imports it into the OpenVPN 3 Linux configuration manager. You can use openvpn3-as with users authenticated through:
PAM
Local authentication
RADIUS
LDAP
Important
Downloading and importing connection profiles with openvpn3-as isn't currently supported for SAML authentication.
Prerequisites
An Access Server instance running.
A user account configured on Access Server.
The latest version of OpenVPN 3 Linux installed.
Tip
Verify your OpenVPN 3 Linux version:
openvpn3 version
Placeholder values used in this tutorial
Replace the following placeholders with values for your environment:
Placeholder | Description |
|---|---|
| The name (alias) assigned to the imported connection profile. |
| Access Server IP address. |
| Access Server domain name. |
Note
In our documentation, we use example IPv4 addresses and subnets reserved for documentation, such as 192.0.2.0/24, 198.51.100.0/24, and 203.0.113.0/24.
Ensure you replace them with valid IPv4 addresses and subnets for your network(s).
Note
This tutorial uses a user-locked profile in the primary example. Additional examples for auto-login profiles and other use cases are provided later.
The openvpn3-as tool supports user-locked and auto-login connection profiles. Server-locked connection profiles aren't supported.
Import a user-locked profile using an IP address:
openvpn3-as --name <MY_CONFIG_NAME> --insecure-certs https://<ACCESS_SERVER_IP>/
Optional: Import a user-locked profile using a domain name:
openvpn3-as --name <MY_CONFIG_NAME> https://<ACCESS_SERVER_DOMAIN>/
When prompted, enter your Access Server username and password.
The
openvpn3-astool downloads the profile and imports it into the OpenVPN 3 Linux configuration manager.Example output:
root@openvpn3:~# openvpn3-as --name brandonqa --insecure-certs https://198.51.100.15/ OpenVPN Access Server Username: brandonlinux OpenVPN Access Server Password: ------------------------------------------------------------ Profile imported successfully Configuration name: brandonqa Configuration path: /net/openvpn/v3/configuration/766701c0x18e7x4430xb6f7x467c8f52afb4
You can now see the imported connection profile available.
List all available configuration profiles:
openvpn3 configs-list
Example output:
root@openvpn3:~# openvpn3 configs-list Configuration Name Last used ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ brandonqa - ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To view additional details about imported profiles, run:
openvpn3 configs-list --verbose
Example output:
root@openvpn3:~# openvpn3 configs-list --verbose Configuration path Imported Last used Used Configuration Name Owner Tags ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ /net/openvpn/v3/configuration/766701c0x18e7x4430xb6f7x467c8f52afb4 2026-06-13 15:51:44 0 brandonqa root Tags: (none) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Start a VPN session using the imported profile:
openvpn3 session-start --config <MY_CONFIG_NAME>
When prompted, enter your credentials.
Example output:
root@openvpn3:~# openvpn3 session-start --config brandonqa Using pre-loaded configuration profile 'brandonqa' Session path: /net/openvpn/v3/sessions/d853932asb2bbs470cs983fs7fd04cbddb52 Auth User name: brandonlinux Auth Password: Connected to 198.51.100.15 (198.51.100.15)
Check the status of active VPN sessions:
openvpn3 sessions-list
If the session status shows Client connected, the VPN connection is active.
Example output:
root@openvpn3:~# openvpn3 sessions-list ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Path: /net/openvpn/v3/sessions/d853932asb2bbs470cs983fs7fd04cbddb52 Created: 2026-06-13 16:01:26 PID: 1412 Owner: root Device: tun0 Config name: brandonqa Connected to: udp:198.51.100.15:1194 Status: Connection, Client connected -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Import an auto-login profile using an IP address:
openvpn3-as --autologin --name <MY_CONFIG_NAME> --insecure-certs https://<ACCESS_SERVER_IP>/
Import an auto-login profile using a domain name:
openvpn3-as --autologin --name <MY_CONFIG_NAME> https://<ACCESS_SERVER_DOMAIN>/
Import an auto-login profile and start it automatically at boot (IP address):
openvpn3-as --systemd-start --autologin --name <MY_CONFIG_NAME> --insecure-certs https://<ACCESS_SERVER_IP>/
Import an auto-login profile and start it automatically at boot (domain name):
openvpn3-as --systemd-start --autologin --name <MY_CONFIG_NAME> https://<ACCESS_SERVER_DOMAIN>/
To view all available options:
openvpn3-as --help
For complete command reference information, see the openvpn3-as manual.