OpenvpnGUI: Username only in user/pass file does not work

[debbie10t]

--auth-user-pass up fails if password is not specified in up when using openvpnGUI.exe (Works properly from command line).

Tested: Windows XP, Openvpn 2.3.12, openvpnGUI v10

Ref: 6e9373c84639382c16d9eb8f1f78f60079bb89df
cherry-picked into release/2.3 as 76b82f0e9d272a703624b102bd2e2b38d9947afb

[Selva Nair]

See past the discussion on this point in the mailing list: ​https://sourceforge.net/p/openvpn/mailman/message/35293973/

OpenVPN parses username and password from either a file (including stdin, or a combination of file and stdin) or from the management. Username from file, password from management is not supported. As the GUI uses the management, this means if "auth-user-pass up" is specified reading from file/stdin gets preference over management and the GUI will not see the username/password authentication.

In my view this is not a limitation as the purpose of having username only in a file is to avoid typing it each time. The GUI included in 2.4-alpha2 remembers previously typed username which is almost as good (sometimes even better) as having username hard-coded in a file.

So to have the GUI to prompt for auth-user-pass credentials, use "--auth-user-pass" without any file name.

[David Sommerseth]

Re-opening this ticket as it covers a feature which is requested from time to time. Since this is already supported in the openvpn core, it is also expected this feature to be available when also using the GUI.

[EDIT] Just to clarify: This is a feature wish for OpenVPN 2.3, as this will come by default in 2.4 - if I've understood Selva correct.

[Selva Nair]

OpenVPN core supports username from file, password from console. This doesn't work with the GUI, as there is no console when GUI is in use. But from the user's point of view it may be fair to expect the console prompt to be redirected to the GUI. Technically, this is equivalent to OpenVPN core supporting username from file, password from management which is currently not possible.

So, this feature is not supported by OpenVPN core, and hence not by the GUI. Neither 2.3 nor 2.4 supports it.

Its only my personal view that what users are probably asking for is a way to remember the username. If so, GUI to be bundled with 2.4 has a feature to do so.

[Samuli Seppänen]

I believe fixing this in "release/2.3" would not suit well within our upgrade/support policy. Plus putting the effort on other 2.4.x features would probably be time better spent.

[David Sommerseth]

debbie10t spent time reporting this just to tell us to close it on irc. Waste of time and energy.

[debbie10t]

Technically, I was asked to report this ..

Personally, I think time and energy put into this would be better spent on Release/2.4

If you want to make Openvpn more convenient for the users then do so for the majority.
(Edit: As the majority will probably be 2.3 for quite some time, I think i just talked myself into this)

[Samuli Seppänen]

As discussed in ​this email thread I sent a patch that explains the limitations of --auth-user-pass when used with OpenVPN GUI.

[Gert Döring]

Since this came up in the context of the recent revival of the inline --auth-user-pass patch(es) again, let's revisit this - aka "username in file, no password, should it query via GUI, and if yes, how so?"