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This guide covers everything you need to build WireGuird from source on Linux systems.

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Prerequisites

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System Requirements

  • Go 1.14 or later
  • GTK+ 3 development libraries
  • Ayatana AppIndicator development libraries
  • Standard build tools (gcc, make, etc.)

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Supported Distributions

WireGuird has been tested on:
  • Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, 20.04 LTS, 21.04, 22.04 LTS, 22.10, 23.04
  • Linux Mint 21.1
  • Debian-based distributions
Fedora support is planned but not yet implemented. The build scripts currently only support Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions.

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Installing Build Dependencies

1

Clone the repository

Clone the WireGuird repository from GitHub:
git clone https://github.com/UnnoTed/wireguird
cd wireguird
2

Make scripts executable

Ensure the build scripts have execute permissions:
chmod +x ./*.sh
3

Install dependencies

Run the dependency installation script:
./deps.sh
This script will automatically detect your distribution and install the required packages.

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What deps.sh Installs

The deps.sh script installs the following packages on Ubuntu/Debian: 
sudo apt install wireguard-tools libgtk-3-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev golang-go resolvconf
Package breakdown:
  • wireguard-tools - Required for wg and wg-quick commands
  • libgtk-3-dev - GTK+ 3 development headers
  • libayatana-appindicator3-dev - System tray indicator development libraries
  • golang-go - Go compiler and toolchain
  • resolvconf - DNS resolution management (runtime dependency)

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Building the Application

1

Generate resources

WireGuird uses fileb0x to embed static resources (icons, glade files) into the binary. This is handled automatically by the build process via go generate.
2

Build the package

Run the packaging script:
./package.sh
This script will:
  • Detect your distribution (Ubuntu/Debian only)
  • Call the appropriate packaging script (package_deb.sh)
  • Build the Go binary with optimizations
  • Create a .deb package in the build/ directory

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Build Process Details

The package_deb.sh script performs these steps: 
# Clean previous builds
rm -r ./build/wireguird_1.1.0_amd64.deb
rm -r ./deb/opt/wireguird/

# Create directory structure
mkdir -p ./deb/opt/wireguird/

# Generate embedded resources and build binary
go generate
go build -ldflags "-s -w" -trimpath -o ./deb/opt/wireguird/wireguird

# Copy icons
cp -r ./Icon/ ./deb/opt/wireguird/

# Create settings file
touch ./deb/opt/wireguird/wireguird.settings

# Build .deb package
mkdir ./build/
dpkg-deb --root-owner-group --build ./deb ./build/wireguird_1.1.0_amd64.deb
Build flags explained:
  • -ldflags "-s -w" - Strip debugging information and symbol table (reduces binary size)
  • -trimpath - Remove file system paths from the binary (improves reproducibility)

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Installing

1

Install the package

Run the installation script:
./install.sh
Or install the .deb package manually:
sudo dpkg -i ./build/wireguird_amd64.deb

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Installation Locations

After installation, files are located at:
  • Binary: /opt/wireguird/wireguird
  • Icons: /opt/wireguird/Icon/
  • Settings: /opt/wireguird/wireguird.settings
  • Desktop entry: /usr/share/applications/wireguird.desktop

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Manual Build (Without .deb)

If you prefer to build without creating a package: 
# Install dependencies
./deps.sh

# Generate embedded resources
go generate

# Build the binary
go build -ldflags "-s -w" -trimpath -o wireguird

# Run from current directory
./wireguird
When running without installing, you’ll need to ensure the Icon directory is in the same location as the binary, or update the icon path in the code.

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Build Artifacts

After a successful build, you’ll have:
  • build/wireguird_1.1.0_amd64.deb - Installable Debian package (~2.6 MB)
  • deb/opt/wireguird/wireguird - Compiled binary

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Customizing the Build

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Changing the Version

Edit package_deb.sh and update the VERSION variable: 
VERSION="1.1.0"  # Change this
Also update the version in deb/DEBIAN/control: 
Version: 1.1.0

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Modifying Build Flags

You can add additional build flags in package_deb.sh: 
go build -ldflags "-s -w -X main.version=1.1.0" -trimpath -o wireguird

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Troubleshooting Build Issues

The Go toolchain is not installed or not in your PATH.Solution:
sudo apt install golang-go
Or download the latest version from golang.org.
GTK+ 3 development libraries are missing.Solution:
sudo apt install libgtk-3-dev
Go modules need to be downloaded.Solution:
go mod download
go mod tidy
The deb/DEBIAN/control file is missing or malformed.Solution: Ensure the control file exists with correct format. Check that you haven’t modified the package structure.

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Development Build

For development purposes, you can build without optimizations: 
go generate
go build -o wireguird
./wireguird
This creates a binary with debugging symbols and faster compilation time.

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Next Steps

After building:

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