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+.. _privileges:
+
+Privilege handling
+==================
+
+For launching VPN and the firewall, Bitmask needs to run with administrative
+privileges. In linux, ``bitmask_root`` is the component that runs with root
+privileges. We currently depend on ``pkexec`` and ``polkit`` to execute it as
+root. In order to do that, Bitmask needs to put some policykit helper files in a
+place that is root-writeable.
+
+If you have installed Bitmask from some distro package, these folders should be
+already in place. If you're running the Bitmask bundles, the first time you will
+be prompted to authenticate to allow these helpers to be copied over (or any
+time that these helpers change).
+
+However, if you're running bitmask in a headless environment, you will want to
+copy the helpers manually, without involving pkexec. To do that, use::
+
+ sudo `which bitmask_helpers` install
+
+You can also uninstall them::
+
+ sudo `which bitmask_helpers` uninstall