Tailnet name

A tailnet name is a unique identifier assigned to each Tailscale network (known as a tailnet). It serves several important purposes, including enabling MagicDNS to register DNS names for tailnet devices and serving as the fully qualified domain name for HTTPS certificates. It’s also used by the sharing feature to uniquely identify shared tailnet devices. You can view your tailnet name in the DNS page of the admin console.

There are two types of tailnet names: the default tailnet name and an optional fun tailnet name.

Default tailnet name

The default tailnet name is assigned when you create a tailnet, and it uses the format tail<ID>.ts.net or tailnet-<ID>.ts.net, where <ID> is a randomly generated hexadecimal string. For example, a random hexadecimal string of fe8c might result in the tailnet name tailfe8c.ts.net or tailnet-fe8c.ts.net.

Fun tailnet name

You can use the default name or generate a new fun name using a unique random string such as cat-crocodile, resulting in the tailnet name cat-crocodile.ts.net. You might prefer the random string over the hexadecimal ID because it’s more memorable. After you create a fun tailnet name, you can switch between the fun name and the default name.

Generate a fun tailnet name

You must be an Owner, Admin, or Network admin to create a fun tailnet name.

To make it easier to remember or type your tailnet name, for example, when you use features like MagicDNS, you can create a fun name instead of a default tailnet name.

To generate a fun tailnet name:

1. Open the DNS page in the admin console.
2. Select Rename tailnet.
3. Confirm that you want to create a fun name.
4. Select one of the randomly generated tailnet names. If you don't want any of the proposed names, you can select Re-roll options to re-roll the random strings.
5. Select Rename tailnet.

When you create a fun tailnet name, it becomes your active tailnet name. If you previously used your default tailnet name for MagicDNS, HTTPS certificates, or sharing, existing links to devices in your tailnet might break.

Switch between tailnet names

You must be an Owner, Admin, or Network admin to switch between the default and fun names.

You can switch between the fun name and the default name from the DNS page of the admin console. However, because tailnet names are used for services like MagicDNS and HTTPS certificates, switching your tailnet name will break existing links to tailnet devices, such as those created to share a device.

To switch between the default and fun tailnet names:

1. Open the DNS page in the admin console.
2. Select Rename tailnet.
3. Confirm that you want to switch your tailnet name.
4. Select the name that you want to use.
5. Select Rename tailnet.

Because your tailnet name is used in MagicDNS, HTTPS certificates, or sharing, switching your tailnet name may break existing links to devices in your tailnet.

Re-roll the fun name

If you haven’t used your fun tailnet name for an HTTPS certificate, you can re-roll the random string to get a new name. But you cannot go back to a previous random string after you re-roll a new one. After you use the name for an HTTPS certificate, you cannot re-roll the random string.

Other Tailscale names

Your tailnet name is distinct from others associated with your Tailscale account or organization, such as your organization name and machine names.

Machine names

Machine names are unique to each device in your tailnet. They’re generated from the device’s hostname (from the operating system) when the device joins the tailnet. You can change a devices machine name from the admin console or the Tailscale CLI.

Organization name

Your organization name, which is used by the Tailscale API, is also generated when you create a tailnet. However, unlike tailnet names, you cannot change or customize them. You can view your organization name in the Settings page of the admin console.