Skip to content

Tailscale Installation & Usage Guide

Tailscale is a simple, secure mesh VPN that uses WireGuard® to securely connect your devices wherever they are.

Prerequisites

  • A Tailscale account (sign in with Google, GitHub, or Microsoft. For Roborregos, log in with the Roborregos Google Account).
  • Admin rights on your device.

Install Tailscale

macOS

  1. Download & Install
  2. Download the macOS installer

  3. Run the .pkg file and follow the steps.

  4. Start Tailscale

  5. Open Tailscale from Applications.
  6. Click Log In — your browser will open.
  7. Log in with your Tailscale account and approve the connection.
  8. Sometimes a reboot is required for it to work.

Windows

  1. Download & Install
  2. Download the Windows installer

  3. Run the .msi file and follow the setup wizard.

  4. Start Tailscale

  5. Open Tailscale from the Start Menu.
  6. Click Log In — your browser will open.
  7. Log in with your Tailscale account and approve the connection.

Linux

  1. Install

Debian/Ubuntu:

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

Or install via APT:

sudo apt-get install tailscale

Fedora/RHEL:

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
  1. Start & Log In
sudo tailscale up

Follow the link provided to log in and authorize your device.

Use Tailscale

  • After login, your device gets a Tailscale IP (e.g. 100.x.x.x).
  • Devices on your network can now securely connect.

Common Commands (Linux/macOS Terminal)

Command Description
tailscale status See all connected devices
tailscale ip Show your Tailscale IP
tailscale ping <device> Test connectivity to another device
tailscale up Connect to Tailscale
tailscale down Disconnect from Tailscale

Test It

  • Ping a device
ping 100.x.x.x
  • SSH into a device
ssh user@100.x.x.x

Tips

  • Manage devices at Tailscale Admin Console
  • Use MagicDNS to connect via hostnames instead of IPs.
  • The free plan is enough for most personal use cases.

Useful Links: