Tailscale
Zero-trust mesh VPN that connects devices with WireGuard encryption and no central server
Open-Source Projects
Discover top open-source software, updated regularly with real-world adoption signals.
Discover top open-source software, updated regularly with real-world adoption signals.
Self‑hosted Tailscale control server for personal and small‑scale networks
Headscale provides a self‑hosted, open‑source alternative to the Tailscale control server, enabling a single private tailnet for hobbyists, labs, and small organizations.
Headscale is a BSD‑licensed, self‑hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server written in Go. It focuses on a single private tailnet, making it ideal for personal projects, home labs, and small open‑source teams that want full control over their VPN infrastructure without relying on third‑party services.
The project is designed to run directly on a host system; reverse proxies and container orchestration are intentionally unsupported. Comprehensive documentation covers both stable and development releases, guiding users through configuration, client compatibility, and network management. Headscale works with standard Tailscale clients across supported operating systems, leveraging WireGuard for secure, NAT‑traversed connections.
By providing an open‑source control plane, Headscale empowers users to manage IP allocation, route advertisement, and user boundaries while maintaining the simplicity of a single‑tailnet architecture.
When teams consider Headscale, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Personal development environment
Securely connect laptops and servers across a home network without third‑party control.
Small open‑source project collaboration
Share services and resources between contributors via a private tailnet.
Home lab with multiple VMs
Provide seamless WireGuard connectivity between virtual machines and physical devices.
Educational workshop on zero‑trust networking
Demonstrate self‑hosted VPN concepts using Headscale as a hands‑on example.
No. Reverse proxies are not supported or recommended for Headscale deployments.
Officially, containerized deployments are not supported; the documentation advises running the binary directly.
Yes, standard Tailscale clients on supported operating systems work with Headscale.
Headscale is released under the BSD‑3‑Clause license.
No, the project is independent, though a maintainer is employed by Tailscale and contributes during work hours.
Project at a glance
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