headscale

An open source, self hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server, aimed at giving self hosters and hobbyists an open source server for their own networks.

Headscale is described as an open source, self hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server. The README explains the context: Tailscale is a modern VPN built on top of Wireguard, working like an overlay network between computers using NAT traversal. The key detail is that everything in Tailscale is open source except the GUI clients and the control server. That control server is exactly the piece headscale reimplements. The project is Go under the BSD-3-Clause license.

The README describes the control server as an exchange point for Wireguard public keys in a Tailscale network. It assigns IP addresses to clients, creates boundaries between users, enables sharing machines between users, and exposes advertised routes of nodes. A Tailscale network is described as a private network assigned to a user or organization. Reading that list, the control server is doing a lot of the coordination that makes the overlay work.

The design goal is stated directly: provide self hosters and hobbyists with an open source server for their projects and labs. To keep that achievable, the project implements a narrow scope with a single Tailscale network, suitable for personal use or a small open source organization. That narrowing is a deliberate choice, since a control server for a large multi network deployment would be a much bigger project.

The README carries a practical note about versions. It advises always selecting the same GitHub tag as the released version being used, to make sure the example configuration matches, because the main branch might contain unreleased changes. Documentation is available for both stable and development versions. The README also describes the supporting community around the project, which matters for a tool people tend to run themselves.

Headscale is a focused answer to a specific gap: open source everything except the control plane, and headscale fills the hole. The single network scope keeps it honest about being a self hoster tool rather than an enterprise product.

• Source 1 · Project repository
• Source 2 · README