Technical reference

Technical overviews

The topics in this section provide in-depth overviews of some fundamental features used in Tailscale.

About WireGuard

Learn more about the encrypted networking protocol that Tailscale is built upon.

Direct and relayed connections

Learn about direct connections and relayed connections in Tailscale.

How Tailscale assigns an IP address

Learn how Tailscale assigns IP addresses and how to manage them.

Smaller binaries for embedded devices

Learn how to build smaller Tailscale binaries that take up minimal disk space.

Kernel vs. netstack subnet routing & exit nodes

Learn about kernel and userspace modes and how each works with subnet routers and exit nodes.

Userspace networking mode

Learn about running Tailscale where you don't have access to create a VPN tunnel device, which is common in container environments.

Node keys

Learn how nodes join a tailnet domain using node keys.

Protect your SSH servers

Learn how to protect your SSH servers by using Tailscale SSH.

Tailnet lock white paper

Learn in-depth details about Tailnet lock to verify that nodes are not added to your tailnet without being signed by trusted nodes in your tailnet.

DERP servers

Learn about Tailscale's globally distributed DERP relay servers.

Zero Trust Networking

Learn how zero-trust networks are used to secure private networks.

IPv4 vs. IPv6 FAQ

Learn in-depth details about IPv4 and IPv6.

Key prefixes

Tailscale uses key prefixes as part of the ID for keys to help distinguish the type of key being used.

Key prefixes

Learn about the prefix IDs used by various types of keys such as API, OAuth, pre-auth, SCIM, and webhooks.

API

Learn about the Tailscale application programming interface (API) for automating various aspects of your network.

API

Learn about the Tailscale application programming interface.

OAuth clients

Learn about OAuth clients and how they work with Tailscale.

tsnet

Learn about the tsnet library that lets you embed Tailscale inside a Go program.

CLI

Learn about the built-in CLI that you can use to manage and troubleshoot your Tailscale network.

CLI

Learn about all of the commands you can use in the Tailscale client.

tailscale funnel

Learn the CLI for sharing a local service over the internet.

tailscale lock

Learn the CLI for managing tailnet lock.

tailscale serve

Learn the CLI for sharing a local service securely within your tailnet.

tailscale up

Learn the CLI for connecting a device to Tailscale.

tailscaled

Learn the CLI for the Tailscale daemon that runs in the client background.

Terminology and concepts

Learn about the terms and concepts that are commonly used with Tailscale.

Terminology and concepts

View common Tailscale terminology and concepts.