ovpn-mode expects configurations to be named with the name.ovpn convention M-x ovpn will pop you into the default configuration directory and list any existing .ovpn files from there. You can then interact with that listing with the following single key commands: s: start the selected ovpn n: start the selected ovpn in a dedicated namespace q: stop the selected ovpn r: restart the selected ovpn There's a simple color coding scheme that tells you which state a given ovpn is in: red: ovpn has stopped/dropped/broken, use q to reset/purge, or b to debug pink: VPN is in the process of initializing blue: namespaced VPN is ready for use green: system wide VPN is ready for use Additionally you have available: i: remote link info for the selected ovpn b: switch to the output buffer for the selected ovpn e: edit the selected ovpn d: set the active vpn conf directory ~: apply a keyword filter to the current conf listing 6: toggle ipv6 support on/off (automatically called on start of ovpn) x: execute an asynchronous shell command in the context of any associated namespace T: spawn a terminal in the context of any associated namespace B: spawn a browser in the context of any associated namespace a: show all active vpn configurations across all conf directories h: describe mode ovpn-mode will maintain state for any running configurations, so you can switch between multiple directories and keep state accordingly.