Headscale

What is Headscale?

Headscale is an open-source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server. It lets you build your own WireGuard-based mesh network using official Tailscale clients, without depending on the commercial coordination service.

Best for

People who want Tailscale-style networking under their own control

Replaces

• Tailscale
• ZeroTier
• WireGuard manual setup

Key features

• WireGuard-based mesh networking
• Works with official Tailscale clients
• ACL and route management
• Single binary, low resource use

How to deploy

• Docker
• Binary

Project health

• GitHub stars: 44,252
• Last code push: 2026-09-30
• Open issues: 136
• Status: actively developed

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