tonalflex-netbird

Installing Netbird VPN on the embedded device running ElkOS will allow you to SSH into it from remote networks in order to develop OS-related features without physical access to the device.

Setup on VPN server device

When you are prompted for password in any of below steps, the default password in ElkOS is elk.

1. SSH into the RPi:

ssh mind@elk-pi.local

2. Download & decompress Netbird:

Check and update these to latest version!

# Fetch latest release
wget https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/releases/download/v0.40.1/netbird_0.40.1_linux_arm64.tar.gz

# Uncompress it
tar -xzf netbird_0.40.1_linux_arm64.tar.gz

3. Move Netbird into filesystem

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/bin
sudo mv /home/mind/netbird /usr/local/bin/

and confirm it's available...

which netbird
netbird version

5. Install & Start Netbird deamon

sudo netbird service install
sudo netbird service start

4. Create Netbird Key

• Go to: https://app.netbird.io and log in.

• In the left sidebar, click "Setup Keys".

• Click the + Create Setup Key button (usually in the top-right).

• In the popup form:

  • Name: e.g., tonalflex-pi
  • Make this key reusable: ✅ Enable this so if you need access from multiple devices.
  • Usage limit: (Optional) – e.g., 1 if it's a one-time setup
  • Expiration: (Optional) – leave empty for no expiry

• Click Create.

• Copy the setup key that appears – it will look like: c3d98e7d-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-123456abcdef

5. Run Netbird VPN

sudo netbird up --setup-key <your-setup-key>

and confirm it's running...

netbird status

Setup on VPN client device

1. Install Netbird client

Download the app from Netbird Website.

2. SSH into the device

Open a terminal and type:

ssh mind@elk-pi.netbird.cloud

Default password: elk