The Proton VPN Linux app and CLI use Python dependencies. Most distributions can handle Python version updates without causing any problems, but updating to a new version of Python can prevent the Proton VPN installer from running correctly.
This issue mainly affects Arch-based distributions (including Manjaro and Garuda Linux). The best solution is to rebuild any Python packages installed from the AUR.
To do this:
1. Get a list of Python packages you’ve installed from the AUR. Open a terminal window and enter:
pacman -Qoq /usr/lib/pythonx.x
Replace x.x with the previous version of Python installed on your system. For example, if you updated from Python 3.10 to Python 3.11, enter:
pacman -Qoq /usr/lib/python3.10
2. Rebuild all found packages using yay. Enter:
yay -S $(pacman -Qoq /usr/lib/python3.10) --answerclean All
Replace x.x with the previous version of Python installed on your system.
However, this command might fail halfway through execution if your system encounters packages that don’t work with the latest version of Python. In this case, you’ll need to rebuild the remaining packages, either individually or in small batches.
3. Reboot your system (optional but recommended).