VyOS Installation

Installing VyOS

VyOS runs on any x86_64 system. Minimum: 2 GB RAM, 8 GB storage, 1 CPU core. For production: 4 GB RAM, 20+ GB storage.

Download

VyOS has three release channels:

Channel	Version	Status	Access	Best for
Rolling	1.5 Circinus	Active dev	Free	Dev, testing, bleeding-edge
Stream	1.5 (quarterly)	LTS preview	Free	Prod without subscription
LTS	1.4 Sagitta	Current LTS	Contributor/subscription	Enterprise production
LTS (old)	1.3 Equuleus	Maintenance only	Contributor/subscription	Existing 1.3 deployments

1.3 is still rock-solid. It’s been battle-tested for years and receives security patches. It’s arguably the most stable VyOS release. The reason we recommend 1.4+ for new deployments isn’t stability — it’s future-proofing. 1.3 uses older config syntax and will eventually reach EOL. Starting fresh? Go 1.4 or Stream. Running 1.3? It’s fine, just plan your migration path.

Rolling (Free)

Nightly builds with the latest features. No stability guarantees — experimental features, breaking config changes possible. Download from vyos.net/get.

Stream (Free) ★ Recommended

VyOS Stream is the sweet spot: quarterly snapshots of the rolling branch that serve as a quality gate for the next LTS. Key guarantees:

No breaking config changes — forward-compatible syntax only
Quarterly releases — tested, curated snapshots
Technology preview — see what’s coming in the next LTS (1.5 Circinus)

Stream is free and is the best choice if you want stability without an LTS subscription. Think of it as “LTS-beta” — more stable than nightly, public, and a preview of what will become LTS.

Available Stream Docker tags for building: 1.5-stream-2025-Q2, 1.5-stream-2025-Q1.

LTS (Gated)

LTS ISOs are not publicly downloadable. Two ways to get them:

Become an active contributor — code, docs, testing, or community work. Active contributors get free LTS access. Start contributing →
LTS subscription — paid access with support. Pricing →

Build LTS ISO Yourself (Free)

The LTS source code is fully public on GitHub. Prebuilt ISOs are gated, but you can build them yourself:

# Clone vyos-build
git clone -b sagitta --single-branch https://github.com/vyos/vyos-build
cd vyos-build

# Build LTS ISO using the sagitta Docker image
docker run --rm --privileged \
  -v $(pwd):/vyos -w /vyos \
  vyos/vyos-build:sagitta \
  sudo ./build-vyos-image iso

Available LTS Docker tags:

Tag	Version	Date
`sagitta`	Latest LTS (rolling)	Updated regularly
`1.4.4`	1.4.4 (stable)	Dec 2025
`1.4.3`	1.4.3 (stable)	Jul 2025
`1.4.2`	1.4.2 (stable)	Apr 2025

To build a specific LTS point release — recommended for production:

# Build VyOS 1.4.4 specifically
docker run --rm --privileged \
  -v $(pwd):/vyos -w /vyos \
  vyos/vyos-build:1.4.4 \
  sudo ./build-vyos-image iso

Prefer a specific version tag (1.4.4) over sagitta for production — you get a known-good point release instead of whatever the latest LTS branch HEAD happens to be.

This produces the same LTS code that subscribers get — just without commercial support. The sagitta branch still receives backported fixes (last updated June 2026).

Build takes 10-20 minutes. Works on any Linux with Docker. See Image Automation for automating this with cron/CI.

”Stable Rolling” Strategy

If building from LTS source isn’t an option, pin a known-good rolling release:

Download a specific dated ISO from vyos.net/get
Test it in a VM first (interfaces, firewall, VPN — your core workflows)
If stable, deploy to production and don’t auto-update
When you need to upgrade, repeat the test-then-deploy cycle

This gives you reproducibility — you know exactly which build you’re running, and you control when to move forward.

If you’re just learning or running a homelab, the rolling release is perfectly fine. Many production users run rolling too — VyOS rolling is more stable than most vendors’ “stable”.

Bare Metal / VM Installation

Boot from ISO
Login: vyos / vyos
Run installer:

install image

Follow prompts — wipe disk, set root password, set GRUB password (optional)
Reboot

Proxmox tip: use host CPU type, VirtIO NICs, discard/SSD emulation on.

# Proxmox VM create example
qm create 100 \
  --name vyos \
  --memory 4096 \
  --cores 2 \
  --net0 virtio,bridge=vmbr0 \
  --net1 virtio,bridge=vmbr1 \
  --scsihw virtio-scsi-pci \
  --virtio0 local-lvm:32,ssd=1,discard=on

Cloud / VPS Deployment

Most VPS providers support custom ISOs or have VyOS images:

Vultr

Upload custom ISO, or use their VyOS image (if available). Minimum $6/month instance.

Hetzner Cloud

Use the rescue system to bootstrap:

# In Hetzner rescue mode
wget https://downloads.vyos.io/rolling/current/vyos-1.5-rolling-latest.iso
qemu-system-x86_64 -cdrom vyos-1.5-rolling-latest.iso \
  -drive file=/dev/sda,format=raw -m 4096 -boot d -nographic

Generic KVM VPS

Mount ISO via provider panel, boot, install image.

First Boot Checklist

# 1. Enter config mode
configure

# 2. Set hostname
set system host-name vyos-gw

# 3. Set timezone
set system time-zone Asia/Jakarta

# 4. Add a user (don't rely on vyos/vyos!)
set system login user admin authentication plaintext-password 'YourPassword'
set system login user admin full-name 'Administrator'

# 5. Enable SSH on LAN
set service ssh port 22
set service ssh listen-address 192.168.1.1

# 6. Commit and save
commit
save

Image Customization

You can build custom images with pre-seeded config using vyos-build:

git clone https://github.com/vyos/vyos-build
cd vyos-build
sudo ./build-vyos-image --debian-mirror http://deb.debian.org/debian \
  --custom-packages vyos-1x-smoketest

Custom config can be injected via config.boot.default in the ISO root.

Basic Configuration →