Compile Xray from Source — The Cleanest Way to Run a VLESS + REALITY Server on Linux

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TL;DR

• Build a portable, stripped xray binary from source using Go.
• Deploy a minimal VLESS + REALITY inbound with a simple systemd unit.
• Publish the guide on Hugo + LoveIt and serve via Cloudflare Pages with proper SEO metadata.

Target audience & intent

This guide is aimed at engineers and power users who want an auditable, minimal runtime for Xray. It focuses on Debian 12.9 examples and shows reproducible, copy-paste commands.

Prerequisites

• A Debian 12.9 host (or compatible Debian family)
• Basic familiarity with systemd, shell, and editing files over SSH
• A small VPS for testing (example specs used in this guide: 1 vCPU, 768 MB RAM)

1. Install prerequisites

Update the system and install essential tools:

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt install -y git vim curl nano build-essential

Note: Avoid blind dist-upgrade on production hosts without testing.

2. Install Go (official binary)

Download and install the appropriate Go distribution for your CPU architecture.

Example for linux/amd64:

cd /opt
curl -LO https://go.dev/dl/go1.25.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo rm -rf /usr/local/go
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.25.1.linux-amd64.tar.gz
echo 'export PATH=$PATH:/usr/local/go/bin' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc
go version

If you run on ARM64, download the go1.25.1.linux-arm64.tar.gz archive instead.

3. Build Xray-core from source

Clone upstream and build a compact, portable binary.

git clone https://github.com/XTLS/Xray-core.git
cd Xray-core
go mod download

CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -o xray -trimpath -ldflags "-s -w -buildid=" ./main
sudo mv xray /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/xray

Why these flags?

• CGO_ENABLED=0: disables cgo and reduces external dependencies.
• -trimpath: removes local file system paths from the binary for reproducibility.
• -ldflags "-s -w": strips debug symbols to reduce binary size.

4. Minimal VLESS + REALITY configuration

Create the configuration directory and file:

sudo mkdir -p /etc/xray
sudo nano /etc/xray/config.json

Paste the following minimal configuration and update the placeholders.

{
  "log": { "loglevel": "warning" },
  "inbounds": [
    {
      "port": 11983,
      "protocol": "vless",
      "settings": {
        "clients": [
          { "id": "YOUR-UUID-HERE", "flow": "xtls-rprx-vision" }
        ],
        "decryption": "none"
      },
      "streamSettings": {
        "network": "tcp",
        "security": "reality",
        "realitySettings": {
          "dest": "www.bing.com:443",
          "serverNames": ["www.bing.com", "bing.com"],
          "privateKey": "YOUR-PRIVATE-KEY",
          "shortIds": ["YOUR-SHORTID-8HEX"]
        }
      },
      "sniffing": { "enabled": true, "destOverride": ["http","tls","quic"] }
    }
  ],
  "outbounds": [
    { "protocol": "freedom", "tag": "direct" },
    { "protocol": "blackhole", "tag": "block" }
  ]
}

Parameter generation:

• UUID: xray uuid or uuidgen
• PrivateKey (x25519): xray x25519
• ShortID (8 hex): openssl rand -hex 8

5. systemd unit for process supervision

Create /etc/systemd/system/xray.service:

[Unit]
Description=Xray Service
Documentation=https://github.com/XTLS
After=network.target nss-lookup.target

[Service]
User=root
NoNewPrivileges=true
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/xray run -config /etc/xray/config.json
Restart=on-failure
RestartPreventExitStatus=23

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now xray
sudo systemctl status xray --no-pager
sudo journalctl -u xray -n 80 --no-pager

6. Operational recommendations

• Keep the xray binary in a private repository or artifact storage for reproducible deployments.
• Use iptables/nftables to limit management access and reduce attack surface.
• Rotate keys and short IDs periodically if you suspect compromise.
• Test builds in an isolated staging environment before replacing production binaries.

7. Quick command reference

8. Publish on Hugo + LoveIt (Cloudflare Pages)

Add the following front matter (already included at the top of this file). Suggested build settings for Cloudflare Pages:

• Build command: hugo --minify
• Publish directory: public
• Enable automatic builds on main branch

LoveIt theme notes:

• Set featured_image in front matter and add alt text.
• Use the theme’s head partial to include Open Graph and Twitter Card metadata.

SEO checklist:

• H1 once, descriptive H2 headings; include long-tail keywords naturally.
• Add JSON-LD (TechArticle) and canonical URL.
• Optimize images (WebP, 200 KB target) and enable Brotli on Cloudflare.

9. Troubleshooting (common errors)

• permission denied — ensure /usr/local/bin/xray is executable and owned by root.
• failed to bind port — port already in use; check ss -ltnp.
• config parse error — validate JSON (use jq . /etc/xray/config.json).

References & further reading

• Xray-core repository: https://github.com/XTLS/Xray-core
• Go official downloads: https://go.dev/dl/
• Hugo documentation: https://gohugo.io/documentation/

Last updated: 2025-09-05