Headscale
The facts below are what the maker publishes about Headscale, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
Plans and prices
From Headscale's own pricing page, checked 11 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Headscale | Free | Open-source self-hosted control server · single tailnet |
The facts
Each one read from Headscale's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access controls
- The features page lists access control lists, API-based ACL management, some autogroups, auto approvers, and Tailscale SSH.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Access model
- vpnchecked 22 Sep 2026
- Admin control level
- standardchecked 22 Sep 2026
- API
- Headscale provides HTTP REST and gRPC interfaces for web interfaces, remote control, and custom integrations, and both require an API key.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Database
- The project recommends SQLite and says PostgreSQL is supported but in maintenance mode.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Deployment support
- The project says it officially supports binaries and DEB packages, while Docker deployments are not officially supported.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Identity integration
- Node registration supports OpenID Connect, but OIDC groups cannot be used in ACLs.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Installation
- Official releases are provided as binaries for various platforms and DEB packages for Debian and Ubuntu; supported DEB distributions are Ubuntu 22.04 or newer and Debian 12 or newer.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The project targets self-hosters and hobbyists, with a single tailnet intended for personal use or a small open-source organisation.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Networking features
- Listed features include node registration, MagicDNS, split DNS, Taildrop, tags, subnet routers, exit nodes, IPv4 and IPv6, and embedded DERP.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Project maintainers
- The documentation names Kristoffer Dalby and Juan Font as maintainers.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Headscale is an open-source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Scaling limitation
- The FAQ says Headscale is not enterprise software and performance is not a development focus; many nodes with frequent network changes can keep resource usage high and cause it to fall behind.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Site-to-site networking
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- SSO / SCIM
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Support
- The project points users to its Discord server for community support.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Transport security
- The service can expose its web service over TLS and supports certificate configuration or automatic certificate acquisition through Let's Encrypt.checked 11 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Client platforms
- The documentation lists Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS as supported client operating systems.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Device posture
- Nochecked 22 Sep 2026
- Supported platforms
- Linux,OpenBSD,FreeBSD,Windows,Android,macOS,iOS,tvOSchecked 22 Sep 2026
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