NetBird Onboarding

Quickstart

Start here if you have an account

Linux

1. Run curl -fsSL https://pkgs.netbird.io/install.sh | sh

2. Run netbird up -m https://netbird.hemera.network

3. You will be provided with a link, follow this and enter your account details

Using community-provided script

Details

1. Run curl -OLs https://raw.githubusercontent.com/physk/netbird-installer/main/install.sh && sudo bash install.sh --quiet -m https://netbird.hemera.network

Using Netbird gui

Details

1. Visit https://app.netbird.io/install

2. Select your OS and follow the instructions

3. If started running automatically then find it in your taskbar, right click, select "settings". Change Management URL and Admin URL to https://netbird.hemera.network:443

4. If it didn't start automatically then run netbird-ui (just netbird on windows) from your operating system's launcher and follow step 3

Windows

1. Visit https://app.netbird.io/install

2. Select Windows and follow the download instructions

3. If started running automatically then find it in your taskbar, right click, select "settings". Change Management URL and Admin URL to https://netbird.hemera.network:443

4. If it didn't start automatically then run netbird from your the search menu and follow step 3

Start here if you have a pre-shared key

Linux

1. Run curl -fsSL https://pkgs.netbird.io/install.sh | sh

2. Run netbird up -m https://netbird.hemera.network -k YOUR PRE-SHARED KEY

Using community-provided script

Details

1. Run curl -OLs https://raw.githubusercontent.com/physk/netbird-installer/main/install.sh && sudo bash install.sh --quiet -m https://netbird.hemera.network -k YOUR PRE-SHARED KEY

Using Netbird gui

Details

1. Visit https://app.netbird.io/install

2. Select your OS and follow the instructions

3. If started running automatically then find it in your taskbar, right click, select "settings". Change Management URL and Admin URL to https://netbird.hemera.network:443

4. If it didn't start automatically then run netbird-ui from your operating system's launcher and follow step 3

5. Get your Pre-share key and fill out that line on the netbird settings, click save. If you get any kind of error report directly back to the user that provided the key.

Windows

1. Visit https://app.netbird.io/install

2. Select Windows and follow the download instructions

3. If started running automatically then find it in your taskbar, right click, select "settings". Change Management URL and Admin URL to https://netbird.hemera.network:443

4. If it didn't start automatically then run netbird from your the search menu and follow step 3

5. Get your Pre-share key and fill out that line on the netbird settings, click save. If you get any kind of error report directly back to the user that provided the key.

How does the NetBird environment work?

Devices are paired up into groups, you will be on a dev group that can interact with a server group. Devices in the server group can interact with each other, devices in the dev group cannot access one another.

NetBird network layout example

Choosing between an auth provider and pre-shared keys

NetBird supports both authentication providers and pre-shared keys. The choice depends on your use case:

Authorization Provider: Auth is provided to NetBird through a service called Zitadel. This approach is ideal for organizations with complex authentication requirements, such as multi-factor authentication or single sign-on (SSO). Authorization providers also enable NetBird to easily manage and revoke user access. However, authorization providers require periodic renewal of access tokens, typically every 60 days. This can be a challenge for automation and deployment/re-deployment of hundreds of nodes.
Pre-Shared Keys: Pre-shared keys are a simple and effective way to authenticate with NetBird without the need for an authorization provider. Pre-shared keys consist of a public key that is shared by the server with the client, and a private key that is kept secret by the client. This approach is ideal for automation and deployment/re-deployment of hundreds of nodes. With pre-shared keys, NetBird can be easily configured to connect to a server without requiring any user intervention. However, pre-shared keys do not provide the same level of security as an authorization provider, as they are vulnerable to key theft.