Access NAS, media servers, or file shares remotely
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Connect to network attached storage (NAS)
Install the Tailscale client on supported network-attached storage (NAS) devices.
Accessing your home NAS, media library, or file share from outside your network normally means opening firewall ports or running a traditional VPN. Tailscale creates an encrypted, peer-to-peer connection between your devices so you can reach those services from anywhere, without exposing them to the internet.
Install the Tailscale client on your server
Install the Tailscale client on the device that hosts your files or media to connect it to your Tailscale network (known as a tailnet). If you don't already have a tailnet, one will be created automatically when you authenticate.
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Install the Tailscale client:
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh -
Authenticate and connect to your tailnet:
sudo tailscale up -
Set up your file-sharing service, such as Samba for SMB shares or Jellyfin, Emby, or Plex for media. Tailscale handles network access, so only tailnet members can reach your services.
Install the Tailscale client on your devices
Download and install the Tailscale client on every device you'll be connecting from, then sign in with the same account.
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
sudo tailscale up
Run tailscale ip to confirm your assigned Tailscale IP address and verify the connection.
Access your files and services
The device you're connecting from must have Tailscale installed and signed in to the same tailnet as your server. Use the server's Tailscale hostname if MagicDNS is enabled, or find its Tailscale IP address on the Machines page of the admin console.
Mount an SMB share from the command line:
sudo mount -t cifs //hostname/sharename /mnt/myshare -o username=<user>
Replace hostname with the server's Tailscale IP address if MagicDNS is not enabled.
For Jellyfin and Emby, open http://hostname:8096 or http://100.x.y.z:8096 in a browser. For Plex, open http://hostname:32400 or http://100.x.y.z:32400.
Further exploration
- Enable MagicDNS to use friendly hostnames instead of IP addresses across your tailnet.
- Use Taildrive to access shared folders directly across your tailnet without configuring SMB.
- Try Taildrop to send files peer-to-peer between any tailnet devices.
- Use Tailscale Serve to expose a local service to other devices on your tailnet.
- Invite users to join your tailnet and access your shared files and media.
- Use the tailnet policy file to restrict which tailnet devices and users can reach your server.