Tailscale
Zero-trust mesh VPN that connects devices with WireGuard encryption and no central server
Headscale
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.
Overview
Overview
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.
Deployment
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.
Highlights
Self‑hosted control plane compatible with standard Tailscale clients
Single‑tailnet design simplifies configuration for personal use
BSD‑3‑Clause license encourages unrestricted modification and redistribution
Extensive documentation for stable and development versions
Pros
- Open‑source and permissively licensed
- Full control over VPN topology and data
- Easy integration with existing Tailscale clients
- Active community and maintainers
Considerations
- Limited to a single tailnet; not suited for multi‑tenant environments
- Official reverse‑proxy and container support are not provided
- Proprietary GUI clients for Windows/macOS are unavailable
- Community support only; no commercial SLA
Managed products teams compare with
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.
Fit guide
Great for
- Hobbyists building private networks for personal projects
- Small open‑source organizations needing a self‑hosted VPN
- Home labs that require secure inter‑device connectivity
- Privacy‑focused users who want to avoid third‑party control servers
Not ideal when
- Large enterprises requiring multi‑tenant VPN management
- Teams that need official commercial support or SLAs
- Deployments that rely on Docker or Kubernetes orchestration
- Users dependent on proprietary Windows/macOS GUI clients
How teams use it
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.
Tech snapshot
Go98%
Nix2%
Shell1%
Makefile1%
CSS1%
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to run a reverse proxy with Headscale?
No. Reverse proxies are not supported or recommended for Headscale deployments.
Can I run Headscale in Docker or Kubernetes?
Officially, containerized deployments are not supported; the documentation advises running the binary directly.
Is Headscale compatible with official Tailscale clients?
Yes, standard Tailscale clients on supported operating systems work with Headscale.
What license is Headscale released under?
Headscale is released under the BSD‑3‑Clause license.
Is Headscale affiliated with Tailscale Inc.?
No, the project is independent, though a maintainer is employed by Tailscale and contributes during work hours.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 34,422
- Watchers
- 34,422
- Forks
- 1,841
LicenseBSD-3-Clause
Repo age5 years old
Last commit3 hours ago
Primary languageGo
Last synced 3 hours ago