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Other Platforms

macOS

App Store

The easiest installation method:

  1. Open the Mac App Store
  2. Search for "Tailscale"
  3. Click Get to install
  4. Open Tailscale from Applications
  5. Click the menu bar icon to connect

Homebrew

brew install --cask tailscale

Standalone Package

Download from tailscale.com/download:

  1. Download the .pkg file
  2. Double-click to install
  3. Follow the installation wizard

CLI Access on macOS

The macOS app includes CLI tools:

# Add to PATH (if needed)
export PATH="/Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS:$PATH"

# Or use full path
/Applications/Tailscale.app/Contents/MacOS/Tailscale status

macOS System Extension

Tailscale uses a system extension that requires approval:

  1. Go to System Preferences → Security & Privacy
  2. Click Allow for Tailscale extension
  3. May require restart

Windows

GUI Installer

  1. Download from tailscale.com/download
  2. Run the .exe installer
  3. Click the system tray icon to connect
  4. Authenticate in browser

Winget

winget install Tailscale.Tailscale

Chocolatey

choco install tailscale

Windows CLI

# Check status
tailscale status

# Connect
tailscale up

# Disconnect
tailscale down

Windows Service

Tailscale runs as a Windows service:

# Check service status
Get-Service Tailscale

# Restart service
Restart-Service Tailscale

# View logs
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source Tailscale -Newest 50

Windows Server

Same installation as desktop. For headless/unattended:

# Download and install silently
$installer = "tailscale-setup.exe"
Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/tailscale-setup-latest.exe" -OutFile $installer
Start-Process -FilePath $installer -Args "/quiet" -Wait

# Authenticate with auth key
tailscale up --auth-key=tskey-auth-xxxxx

iOS

App Store

  1. Open the App Store on your iPhone/iPad
  2. Search for "Tailscale"
  3. Tap Get to install
  4. Open the app and tap Get Started
  5. Sign in with your identity provider

Configuration

  • Tap the Tailscale icon to toggle connection
  • Use the app to manage exit nodes
  • Enable/disable MagicDNS in settings

MDM Deployment

For enterprise deployment, use an MDM configuration profile:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>PayloadContent</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>PayloadType</key>
            <string>com.apple.vpn.managed</string>
            <!-- VPN configuration -->
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

Android

Google Play Store

  1. Open the Play Store
  2. Search for "Tailscale"
  3. Tap Install
  4. Open the app and sign in

Direct APK

Download APK from tailscale.com/download for sideloading.

Android TV

Install from Play Store on Android TV devices.

Features

  • VPN toggle in quick settings
  • Exit node selection
  • Taildrop file receiving
  • Widget support

FreeBSD

Package

pkg install tailscale

# Enable and start
sysrc tailscaled_enable="YES"
service tailscaled start

# Authenticate
tailscale up

Ports

cd /usr/ports/security/tailscale
make install clean

OpenBSD

Package

pkg_add tailscale

# Start daemon
rcctl enable tailscaled
rcctl start tailscaled

# Authenticate
tailscale up

Synology NAS

Package Center

  1. Open Package Center
  2. Search for "Tailscale"
  3. Click Install
  4. Open Tailscale from main menu
  5. Click Log in and authenticate

SSH Installation (Alternative)

# SSH into Synology
ssh admin@synology-ip

# Download and install
curl -fsSL https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/tailscale_latest_amd64.tgz | tar xzf -
sudo cp tailscale_*/tailscale tailscale_*/tailscaled /usr/local/bin/

# Start manually
sudo /usr/local/bin/tailscaled &
sudo /usr/local/bin/tailscale up

QNAP NAS

App Center

  1. Open App Center
  2. Search for "Tailscale"
  3. Click Install
  4. Configure through web UI

TrueNAS

TrueNAS SCALE (Linux-based)

# Via Apps
# Navigate to Apps → Available Applications → Tailscale

# Or via CLI
sudo tailscale up

TrueNAS CORE (FreeBSD-based)

Use a jail:

# Create jail
iocage create -n tailscale -r 13.1-RELEASE

# Enter jail
iocage console tailscale

# Install
pkg install tailscale

Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi OS (Debian-based)

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

# Start
sudo tailscale up

Performance Notes

  • Works well on Pi 3 and later
  • Pi Zero may have limited performance
  • Enable hardware crypto if available

As Exit Node

# Enable IP forwarding
echo 'net.ipv4.ip_forward = 1' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo sysctl -p

# Advertise as exit node
sudo tailscale up --advertise-exit-node

routers

OpenWrt

# Update packages
opkg update

# Install Tailscale
opkg install tailscale

# Start
/etc/init.d/tailscale start
/etc/init.d/tailscale enable

# Authenticate
tailscale up

pfSense/OPNsense

Use the Tailscale package from the package manager:

  1. Navigate to System → Package Manager
  2. Search for "tailscale"
  3. Install the package
  4. Configure through web UI

Ubiquiti EdgeRouter

# Add repository
curl -fsSL https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/debian/buster.noarmor.gpg | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/tailscale-archive-keyring.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/tailscale-archive-keyring.gpg] https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/debian buster main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tailscale.list

# Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install tailscale

# Configure
sudo tailscale up --advertise-routes=192.168.1.0/24

Virtual Machines

VMware

Install Tailscale inside the guest OS normally. No special VMware configuration needed.

VirtualBox

Same as VMware - install in guest OS.

Hyper-V

Install in guest Windows/Linux normally.

Proxmox VMs

Install in guest OS. For best performance:

# In VM
sudo tailscale up --accept-routes

Cloud Instances

AWS EC2

# User data script
#!/bin/bash
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
tailscale up --auth-key=tskey-auth-xxxxx --ssh

Google Cloud

# Startup script
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
tailscale up --auth-key=tskey-auth-xxxxx --ssh

Azure

# Custom script extension
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
tailscale up --auth-key=tskey-auth-xxxxx --ssh

DigitalOcean

# Droplet user data
#!/bin/bash
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
tailscale up --auth-key=tskey-auth-xxxxx --ssh

Embedded/IoT

General Requirements

  • ARM or x86 architecture
  • Linux kernel 4.x or later
  • ~50MB storage
  • ~30MB RAM

Static Binary

For minimal systems:

# Download appropriate architecture
# amd64, arm64, arm, 386
wget https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/tailscale_latest_arm64.tgz
tar xzf tailscale_latest_arm64.tgz
./tailscale_*/tailscaled &
./tailscale_*/tailscale up