Advanced Users

Whonix ®

Download

Windows Linux Mac VirtualBox KVM Qubes Intel / AMD64 ARM64 PPC64 USB ISO Raspberry Pi More options Source Code

About

Overview Features Whonix vs VPNs Why Open Source? Project Activities Contributors Mission & Vision

Docs

Documentation FAQ Troubleshooting

Community

Forums Forum Best Practices Contribute

Support

Self Support First Policy Search Engines, Docs and AI Support (Limited) Reporting Bugs Contact (Restricted)

Tools Upload file Special pages Recent changes Print Version Page meta What links here Related changes Page information

Page Read Edit History Move Protection Unwatch Watch Delete Purge

User Preferences Watchlist Contributions Logout Create account Login

Donate

What is an advanced user?

Skills

This list is non-exhaustive.

• Download and save files: Save files to a specific folder and later locate them again.
• Find files: Search for files and folders using the file manager and the command line.
• Make a file executable: Set execute permissions and understand when this is appropriate.
• Manage long running commands: Start a long running command and stop it by killing the process from the command line.
• Check processes as a user: Determine whether a process is running as the current user.
• Check processes as root: Determine whether a process is running with root privileges.
• Open files with root rights: Edit system files safely with elevated permissions when required.
• Open folders with root rights: Browse and modify protected directories using elevated permissions when required.
• Understand the user home folder: Know where user configuration and data are stored and how permissions apply.
• Understand the root home folder: Know where root configuration and data are stored and how permissions differ from user accounts.
• Copy logs: Copy relevant journalctl output for troubleshooting and support requests.
• Use systemd service status: Interpret systemctl status output and identify common failure causes.
• Edit boot parameters: Edit boot parameters in the grub boot menu for one-time troubleshooting.
• Mount disk images: Mount a virtual hard drive file on the host operating system to inspect or recover data.
• Use a serial console: Connect to and use a serial console for debugging and recovery.
• Use OpenPGP Web of Trust: Understand trust models, key signing, and basic verification workflows.
• Understand Linux file permissions: Interpret and set permissions and ownership, including the effect of groups.

• Use sudo safely: Understand when sudo is required and avoid running unnecessary commands as root.
• Interpret exit codes: Recognize common non-zero exit codes and use them to troubleshoot failures.
• Redirect and pipe output: Use >, >>, and pipes to capture, append, and filter command output.
• Search text output: Use tools such as grep to find relevant lines in logs and command output.
• Inspect disk usage: Identify large files and folders and understand free space vs used space reporting.
• Verify file integrity: Check hashes (for example SHA256) to verify downloads and detect corruption.
• Extract archives: Work with common archive formats and preserve permissions when extracting.
• Understand networking basics: Inspect IP addresses, routes, and DNS configuration for troubleshooting.
• Test connectivity: Diagnose network issues using basic tools and interpret common failure modes.
• Understand firewall basics: Know how local firewall rules can affect connectivity and services.
• Manage services: Start, stop, restart, enable, and disable services using systemctl.
• Read system logs: Filter and interpret logs by time range, service, and priority.
• Use text editors: Comfortably edit configuration files using a terminal editor.
• Manage packages: Install, remove, and update software packages and understand repositories.
• Handle dependencies: Recognize dependency conflicts and resolve common package management errors.
• Use SSH: Connect to remote systems, copy files securely, and understand basic key handling.
• Manage file ownership: Change ownership and groups and understand how this affects access.
• Understand mounts: Inspect mounted filesystems and troubleshoot mount failures and permission issues.
• Work with block devices: Identify disks and partitions and understand common naming conventions.
• Use loop devices: Attach and detach disk images using loop devices for inspection and recovery.
• Understand system resources: Check CPU, RAM, and I/O usage and identify common bottlenecks.
• Use cron or timers: Schedule tasks and understand the difference between cron jobs and systemd timers.
• Manage environment variables: Inspect and set environment variables for troubleshooting and configuration.
• Understand PATH and executables: Know how commands are located and why scripts may not run as expected.
• Handle permissions errors: Diagnose "permission denied" and "operation not permitted" errors correctly.
• Use virtualization basics: Understand the difference between host and guest and common VM device concepts.
• Backup and restore: Create backups, verify them, and perform a basic restore without data loss.
• Recognize storage failure signs: Identify early warning signs and know when to run diagnostic tools and replace hardware.
• GnuPG
• Sequoia-PGP

Qubes only

• Understand the /rw folder: Know what persists across reboots and what does not.
• Edit startup scripts: Use gsudoedit to edit /rw/config/rc.local safely and understand when it runs.
• Understand TemplateVMs: Know what a TemplateVM is and how updates propagate to AppVMs.
• Understand AppVMs vs StandaloneVMs: Choose the right VM type based on persistence and update needs.
• Use DisposableVMs: Use DisposableVMs for risky activities and understand their lifecycle.
• Understand qubes networking: Know how NetVMs and firewall settings affect connectivity.
• Use Qubes firewall rules: Configure per-VM firewall rules and verify they take effect.
• Manage VM storage: Understand private storage, template root, and how to resize VM volumes safely.
• Troubleshoot qrexec basics: Recognize common qrexec policy issues and where to look for errors.
• Use split GPG: Use split GPG workflows and understand trust boundaries.
• Use split SSH: Use split SSH workflows and understand how agent forwarding is handled.
• Recover from VM issues: Start VMs from the command line and troubleshoot common startup failures.

Whonix The most watertight privacy operating system in the world.

Dark mode

Follow us on social media

Supported by Power Up Privacy

Whonix is proudly supported until 2026 by Power Up Privacy, a privacy advocacy group that seeks to supercharge privacy projects with resources so they can complete their mission of making our world a better place. (Strictly subject to our sponsorship policy.)

At Whonix we value freedom and trust, supporting Open Source and Freedom Software

By using this website, you acknowledge you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these agreements: Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, E-Sign Consent, DMCA, Imprint 2012- 2026 ENCRYPTED SUPPORT LLC

Your support makes
all the difference!

We believe security software like Whonix needs to remain open source and independent. Would you help sustain and grow the project? Learn more about our 14 year success story and maybe DONATE!