How to install and configure the Tunnelblick client on macOS

Mis à jour le 2026-10-23 05:01:17 9 visites

In this manual, we will see how to download, install, and perform a connection test with the Tunnelblick client, an alternative to OpenVPN Connect for macOS systems:

1. Accessing SWPanel

First, we must download the VPN client (Tunnelblick):

2. Downloading the Tunnelblick client and configuration file

Once inside SWPanel:

  • Go to the "Connection" tab.

  • Download the Tunnelblick client installer for macOS (.dmg).

info It is necessary to access from a macOS device so that the compatible installer (.dmg) is downloaded automatically.

  • From the same window, we also download the configuration file (.ovpn) necessary to establish the VPN connection.

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3. Installing the Tunnelblick client

  • Open the downloaded .dmg file.

  • Run the installer and double-click on Tunnelblick:

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  • A message will likely appear indicating that we are trying to open an installer downloaded from the internet; click on "Open":

    ![enter image description here](https://static.swpanel.com/doc/2026/images/0507/0507_04.webp)  
    

4. Opening the Tunnelblick application

  • Go to Applications > Tunnelblick.

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  • Open the application to start the configuration.

5. Importing the configuration file

  • Once the Tunnelblick application is open, the following message will appear where we must indicate "I have configuration files":

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  • As we can see in the following screenshot, there are two options for importing the configuration file.

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    1. Drag and drop the .ovpn file onto the Tunnelblick icon in the menu bar.

    2. Drag and drop the .ovpn file onto the profile list in the "Configurations" tab:

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  • In the following window, select "Only Me" to install the VPN profile only for the user currently logged into the system:

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  • In the next window, select "Always use the plugin".

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6. Entering access credentials

  • Once the configuration file has been imported, select the VPN profile and click "Connect":

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  • Enter the VPN username and password and then click "OK":

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    danger The "Security Code" field should remain empty; it is not necessary to enter any data.

7. Two-step authentication (2FA)

  • Enter the two-factor authentication (2FA) code generated by the configured application (Authy, Google Authenticator, etc.) and then click "OK".

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8. Final configuration

  • If the following messages appear, we can ignore them, as SSL VPNs with 2FA do not modify the public IP or DNS servers; they simply allow access to the authorized internal VLANs.

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VPN connected

Once these steps are completed, the VPN connection should be correctly established and ready for use.

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info In some cases, the first connection might not complete successfully. If this occurs, simply repeating the attempt usually establishes the connection correctly.