Manage permissions using ACLs

ACLs (access control lists) let you precisely define permissions for users and devices on your Tailscale network (known as a tailnet). Tailscale manages access rules for your network in the tailnet policy file using ACL syntax.

When you first create your tailnet, the default tailnet policy file allows communication between all devices within the tailnet. You can modify your policy file (including editing ACLs) to fit your needs.

ACLs deny access by default, are directional, are locally enforced, and don't affect local network traffic.

• Deny access by default. Using a default deny policy prevents communication between devices without explicit access to each other.
• Directional. Allowing a source to connect to a destination doesn't mean the destination can connect to the source (unless a policy explicitly allows it).
• Locally enforced. A device enforces incoming connections based on the access rules distributed to all devices in your tailnet. Rule enforcement happens on each device directly, without further involvement from Tailscale's coordination server.
• ACLs do not affect what a device can or cannot access on its local network.

To learn more about Tailscale's approach to access control, read RBAC like it was meant to be.

Edit ACLs

You can edit your tailnet's access rules by using the Access Controls page of the admin console, GitOps for Tailscale ACLs, or the Tailscale API. See Editing ACLs.

Refer to ACL syntax to learn about creating access control policies or the sample ACLs for examples of common policies.

Availability by plan

ACLs are available on all plans, but certain functionality might be restricted on some plans.

Availability	On all plans	On the Personal, Premium, and Enterprise plans
Access rules for...	Any Tailscale IP Subnet CIDR Range Autogroups Tags Hosts	Any Tailscale IP Subnet CIDR Range Autogroups Groups Users Tags Hosts
Access rules specifying...	Ports Protocols
ACL sections for...	acl hosts tests tagOwners autoApprovers nodeAttrs postures with default device posture attributes only	acl groups hosts tests tagOwners autoApprovers ssh for Tailscale SSH nodeAttrs for Tailscale Funnel postures with default, custom, and third-party attributes (Personal and Enterprise plans only)