Skip to main content
WireGuird requires several system libraries and tools to build and run. This page provides detailed information about each dependency.

​
Runtime Dependencies

These packages must be installed for WireGuird to run properly.

​
WireGuard Tools

Package: wireguard-tools Purpose: Provides the wg and wg-quick command-line utilities that WireGuird uses to manage WireGuard tunnels. Installation: 
sudo apt install wireguard-tools
What it includes:
  • wg - Configuration utility for WireGuard
  • wg-quick - Script for quickly bringing up/down WireGuard interfaces
Version requirements: Any recent version (1.0.20200513 or later recommended)
WireGuird does not directly interface with the kernel module. It uses wg-quick as a subprocess to manage tunnels, which is why this package is essential.

​
resolvconf

Package: resolvconf Purpose: Manages DNS resolver configuration. Required by wg-quick to set DNS servers specified in tunnel configurations. Installation: 
sudo apt install resolvconf
What it does:
  • Updates /etc/resolv.conf when tunnels connect/disconnect
  • Manages DNS nameserver priorities
  • Restores original DNS settings when tunnel is disabled
Why it’s required: When a WireGuard tunnel specifies DNS servers in the [Interface] section: 
[Interface]
DNS = 1.1.1.1, 1.0.0.1
wg-quick calls resolvconf to apply these settings. Without it, you’ll see: 
resolvconf: command not found
Alternatives:
  • systemd-resolved (on systemd-based systems)
  • openresolv

​
GTK+ 3 Runtime

Package: libgtk-3-0 Purpose: The GTK+ 3 toolkit provides the graphical interface components. Installation: 
sudo apt install libgtk-3-0
What it provides:
  • Window management
  • UI widgets (buttons, text fields, etc.)
  • Dialog boxes
  • CSS styling support
Version: GTK 3.18 or later (automatically installed on modern Ubuntu/Debian systems)

​
Ayatana AppIndicator

Package: libayatana-appindicator3-1 Purpose: Provides the system tray icon functionality. Installation: 
sudo apt install libayatana-appindicator3-1
What it provides:
  • System tray indicator support
  • Menu for the tray icon (Show/Quit options)
  • Desktop environment integration
Desktop environment support:
  • ✅ Ubuntu/Unity
  • ✅ GNOME (with AppIndicator extension)
  • ✅ XFCE
  • ✅ MATE
  • ✅ Cinnamon
  • ⚠️ KDE Plasma (limited support)
On GNOME-based desktops, you may need to install the AppIndicator extension:
sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator

​
Build Dependencies

These packages are only needed when compiling WireGuird from source.

​
Go Programming Language

Package: golang-go Purpose: Go compiler and toolchain for building the application. Installation: 
sudo apt install golang-go
Version requirements: Go 1.14 or later (specified in go.mod) What’s included:
  • Go compiler (go build)
  • Go modules support (go mod)
  • Code generation tools (go generate)
Alternative installation: For the latest version, download from golang.org: 
wget https://go.dev/dl/go1.21.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.21.0.linux-amd64.tar.gz
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin

​
GTK+ 3 Development Files

Package: libgtk-3-dev Purpose: Header files and pkg-config metadata for building against GTK+ 3. Installation: 
sudo apt install libgtk-3-dev
What it provides:
  • C header files for GTK+ 3
  • pkg-config .pc files
  • Development documentation
Required for: The gotk3 Go package uses cgo to interface with GTK+ C libraries.

​
Ayatana AppIndicator Development Files

Package: libayatana-appindicator3-dev Purpose: Development headers for building applications with AppIndicator support. Installation: 
sudo apt install libayatana-appindicator3-dev
What it provides:
  • C header files for AppIndicator library
  • pkg-config metadata
  • Required for compiling the tray icon functionality

​
Go Module Dependencies

WireGuird uses several Go packages, defined in go.mod:

​
GUI and Graphics

github.com/gotk3/gotk3 v0.6.1
Purpose: Go bindings for GTK+ 3, GLib, and Cairo Provides:
  • GTK widget wrappers
  • Signal/event handling
  • UI construction from Glade files
github.com/UnnoTed/go-appindicator v0.0.0-20230327231603-45f589795ad5
Purpose: Go bindings for libayatana-appindicator3 Provides:
  • System tray indicator creation
  • Tray menu management
  • Icon status updates (red when connected, black when disconnected)
github.com/UnnoTed/horizontal v0.0.0-20220811200655-cbe810c8df9b
Purpose: Custom console output formatting for zerolog Provides:
  • Colored console output
  • Improved log readability

​
WireGuard Management

golang.zx2c4.com/wireguard/wgctrl v0.0.0-20230215201556-9c5414ab4bde
Purpose: WireGuard control library for Go Provides:
  • Read WireGuard device information
  • Parse configuration
  • Query peer statistics (handshake time, data transfer)
Key types used:
  • wgtypes.Device - Represents a WireGuard interface
  • wgtypes.Peer - Represents a WireGuard peer

​
Logging

github.com/rs/zerolog v1.29.0
Purpose: Fast, structured logging library Usage in WireGuird: 
log.Error().Err(err).Msg("error message")
log.Info().Str("key", "value").Msg("info message")
Configured in: main.go:21

​
Configuration Parsing

gopkg.in/ini.v1 v1.67.0
Purpose: INI file parser Used for:
  • Parsing WireGuard .conf files
  • Reading [Interface] and [Peer] sections

​
Utilities

github.com/dustin/go-humanize v1.0.1
Purpose: Human-readable formatting of numbers and sizes Used for:
  • Formatting data transfer amounts (MB, GB)
  • Time duration formatting
github.com/ungerik/go-dry v0.0.0-20220205124545-c028a5f03370
Purpose: Don’t Repeat Yourself utility functions Provides:
  • File I/O helpers
  • String manipulation utilities
github.com/UnnoTed/fileb0x v1.1.4
Purpose: Embed static files into Go binaries Used for:
  • Embedding wireguird.glade (UI definition)
  • Embedding icon files
  • Creating the static/ab0x.go file
Configuration: fileb0x.toml

​
Dependency Installation Scripts

For Ubuntu/Debian systems: 
# Clone and enter repository
git clone https://github.com/UnnoTed/wireguird
cd wireguird

# Install all dependencies
chmod +x ./deps.sh
./deps.sh

​
Manual Installation

If you prefer to install dependencies manually: Runtime + Build: 
sudo apt update
sudo apt install \
  wireguard-tools \
  resolvconf \
  libgtk-3-0 \
  libgtk-3-dev \
  libayatana-appindicator3-1 \
  libayatana-appindicator3-dev \
  golang-go
Runtime only (for binary installation): 
sudo apt install \
  wireguard-tools \
  resolvconf \
  libgtk-3-0 \
  libayatana-appindicator3-1

​
Verifying Dependencies

​
Check Installed Packages

# Check if packages are installed
dpkg -l | grep -E 'wireguard|gtk|appindicator|golang'

​
Check Go Version

go version
# Should output: go version go1.14 or later

​
Check WireGuard Tools

wg --version
wg-quick --version

​
Check GTK Version

pkg-config --modversion gtk+-3.0
# Should output: 3.18.0 or later

​
Verify Go Modules

After cloning the repository: 
cd wireguird
go mod download
go mod verify

​
Distribution-Specific Notes

​
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

  • Uses AppIndicator (not Ayatana variant)
  • Install libappindicator3-dev instead
  • Go version may need manual update

​
Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian 11+

  • Uses Ayatana AppIndicator by default
  • All packages available in main repositories
  • Recommended for easiest setup

​
Fedora (Planned Support)

The equivalent packages on Fedora would be: 
# Not yet implemented in deps.sh
sudo dnf install \
  wireguard-tools \
  gtk3-devel \
  golang \
  openresolv
Fedora support is mentioned in the source but not yet fully implemented. Contributions welcome!

​
Troubleshooting Dependency Issues

See the Troubleshooting page for solutions to common dependency-related problems. Common issues:
  • Missing GTK libraries
  • AppIndicator not showing
  • resolvconf command not found
  • Go build errors related to cgo

​
Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us