Virtual Private Network VPN (3): Using Headscale to Build Your Own Tailscale Server

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headscale/
├── headplane/
│   └── config.yaml
├── headscale/
│   └── config.yaml
└── docker-compose.yaml
└── .env

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version: '3.5'
services:
  headscale:
    image: headscale/headscale:v0.26
    container_name: headscale
    volumes:
      - ./headscale/config:/etc/headscale
      - ${DATA_DIR}/headscale/data:/var/lib/headscale
      - /etc/timezone:/etc/timezone:ro
      - /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
    command: serve
    restart: unless-stopped
  headplane:
    container_name: headplane
    image: ghcr.io/tale/headplane:0.6.0
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - './headplane/config/config.yaml:/etc/headplane/config.yaml'
      - './headscale/config/config.yaml:/etc/headscale/config.yaml'
      - '${DATA_DIR}/headplane/data:/var/lib/headplane'
      - '/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro'

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---
# headscale will look for a configuration file named `config.yaml` (or `config.json`) in the following order:
#
# - `/etc/headscale`
# - `~/.headscale`
# - current working directory

# The url clients will connect to.
# Typically this will be a domain like:
#
# https://myheadscale.example.com:443
#
server_url: https://<headscale.example.com>

# Address to listen to / bind to on the server
#
# For production:
listen_addr: 0.0.0.0:8080
#listen_addr: 127.0.0.1:8080

# Address to listen to /metrics, you may want
# to keep this endpoint private to your internal
# network
#
metrics_listen_addr: 127.0.0.1:9090

# Address to listen for gRPC.
# gRPC is used for controlling a headscale server
# remotely with the CLI
# Note: Remote access _only_ works if you have
# valid certificates.
#
# For production:
grpc_listen_addr: 0.0.0.0:50443
#grpc_listen_addr: 127.0.0.1:50443

# Allow the gRPC admin interface to run in INSECURE
# mode. This is not recommended as the traffic will
# be unencrypted. Only enable if you know what you
# are doing.
grpc_allow_insecure: false

# The Noise section includes specific configuration for the
# TS2021 Noise protocol
noise:
  # The Noise private key is used to encrypt the
  # traffic between headscale and Tailscale clients when
  # using the new Noise-based protocol.
  private_key_path: /var/lib/headscale/noise_private.key

# List of IP prefixes to allocate tailaddresses from.
# Each prefix consists of either an IPv4 or IPv6 address,
# and the associated prefix length, delimited by a slash.
# It must be within IP ranges supported by the Tailscale
# client - i.e., subnets of 100.64.0.0/10 and fd7a:115c:a1e0::/48.
# See below:
# IPv6: https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale/blob/22ebb25e833264f58d7c3f534a8b166894a89536/net/tsaddr/tsaddr.go#LL81C52-L81C71
# IPv4: https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale/blob/22ebb25e833264f58d7c3f534a8b166894a89536/net/tsaddr/tsaddr.go#L33
# Any other range is NOT supported, and it will cause unexpected issues.
prefixes:
  v4: 100.64.0.0/10
  v6: fd7a:115c:a1e0::/48

  # Strategy used for allocation of IPs to nodes, available options:
  # - sequential (default): assigns the next free IP from the previous given IP.
  # - random: assigns the next free IP from a pseudo-random IP generator (crypto/rand).
  allocation: sequential

# DERP is a relay system that Tailscale uses when a direct
# connection cannot be established.
# https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works/#encrypted-tcp-relays-derp
#
# headscale needs a list of DERP servers that can be presented
# to the clients.
derp:
  server:
    # If enabled, runs the embedded DERP server and merges it into the rest of the DERP config
    # The Headscale server_url defined above MUST be using https, DERP requires TLS to be in place
    enabled: false

    # Region ID to use for the embedded DERP server.
    # The local DERP prevails if the region ID collides with other region ID coming from
    # the regular DERP config.
    region_id: 999

    # Region code and name are displayed in the Tailscale UI to identify a DERP region
    region_code: "headscale"
    region_name: "Headscale Embedded DERP"

    # Listens over UDP at the configured address for STUN connections - to help with NAT traversal.
    # When the embedded DERP server is enabled stun_listen_addr MUST be defined.
    #
    # For more details on how this works, check this great article: https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works/
    stun_listen_addr: "0.0.0.0:3478"

    # Private key used to encrypt the traffic between headscale DERP
    # and Tailscale clients.
    # The private key file will be autogenerated if it's missing.
    #
    private_key_path: /var/lib/headscale/derp_server_private.key

    # This flag can be used, so the DERP map entry for the embedded DERP server is not written automatically,
    # it enables the creation of your very own DERP map entry using a locally available file with the parameter DERP.paths
    # If you enable the DERP server and set this to false, it is required to add the DERP server to the DERP map using DERP.paths
    automatically_add_embedded_derp_region: true

    # For better connection stability (especially when using an Exit-Node and DNS is not working),
    # it is possible to optionally add the public IPv4 and IPv6 address to the Derp-Map using:
    ipv4: 1.2.3.4
    ipv6: 2001:db8::1

  # List of externally available DERP maps encoded in JSON
  urls:
    - https://controlplane.tailscale.com/derpmap/default

  # Locally available DERP map files encoded in YAML
  #
  # This option is mostly interesting for people hosting
  # their own DERP servers:
  # https://tailscale.com/kb/1118/custom-derp-servers/
  #
  # paths:
  #   - /etc/headscale/derp-example.yaml
  paths: []

  # If enabled, a worker will be set up to periodically
  # refresh the given sources and update the derpmap
  # will be set up.
  auto_update_enabled: true

  # How often should we check for DERP updates?
  update_frequency: 24h

# Disables the automatic check for headscale updates on startup
disable_check_updates: false

# Time before an inactive ephemeral node is deleted?
ephemeral_node_inactivity_timeout: 30m

database:
  # Database type. Available options: sqlite, postgres
  # Please note that using Postgres is highly discouraged as it is only supported for legacy reasons.
  # All new development, testing and optimisations are done with SQLite in mind.
  type: sqlite

  # Enable debug mode. This setting requires the log.level to be set to "debug" or "trace".
  debug: false

  # GORM configuration settings.
  gorm:
    # Enable prepared statements.
    prepare_stmt: true

    # Enable parameterized queries.
    parameterized_queries: true

    # Skip logging "record not found" errors.
    skip_err_record_not_found: true

    # Threshold for slow queries in milliseconds.
    slow_threshold: 1000

  # SQLite config
  sqlite:
    path: /var/lib/headscale/db.sqlite

    # Enable WAL mode for SQLite. This is recommended for production environments.
    # https://www.sqlite.org/wal.html
    write_ahead_log: true

    # Maximum number of WAL file frames before the WAL file is automatically checkpointed.
    # https://www.sqlite.org/c3ref/wal_autocheckpoint.html
    # Set to 0 to disable automatic checkpointing.
    wal_autocheckpoint: 1000

  # # Postgres config
  # Please note that using Postgres is highly discouraged as it is only supported for legacy reasons.
  # See database.type for more information.
  # postgres:
  #   # If using a Unix socket to connect to Postgres, set the socket path in the 'host' field and leave 'port' blank.
  #   host: localhost
  #   port: 5432
  #   name: headscale
  #   user: foo
  #   pass: bar
  #   max_open_conns: 10
  #   max_idle_conns: 10
  #   conn_max_idle_time_secs: 3600

  #   # If other 'sslmode' is required instead of 'require(true)' and 'disabled(false)', set the 'sslmode' you need
  #   # in the 'ssl' field. Refers to https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-ssl.html Table 34.1.
  #   ssl: false

### TLS configuration
#
## Let's encrypt / ACME
#
# headscale supports automatically requesting and setting up
# TLS for a domain with Let's Encrypt.
#
# URL to ACME directory
acme_url: https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory

# Email to register with ACME provider
acme_email: ""

# Domain name to request a TLS certificate for:
tls_letsencrypt_hostname: ""

# Path to store certificates and metadata needed by
# letsencrypt
# For production:
tls_letsencrypt_cache_dir: /var/lib/headscale/cache

# Type of ACME challenge to use, currently supported types:
# HTTP-01 or TLS-ALPN-01
# See: docs/ref/tls.md for more information
tls_letsencrypt_challenge_type: HTTP-01
# When HTTP-01 challenge is chosen, letsencrypt must set up a
# verification endpoint, and it will be listening on:
# :http = port 80
tls_letsencrypt_listen: ":http"

## Use already defined certificates:
tls_cert_path: ""
tls_key_path: ""

log:
  # Output formatting for logs: text or json
  format: text
  level: info

## Policy
# headscale supports Tailscale's ACL policies.
# Please have a look to their KB to better
# understand the concepts: https://tailscale.com/kb/1018/acls/
policy:
  # The mode can be "file" or "database" that defines
  # where the ACL policies are stored and read from.
  mode: file
  # If the mode is set to "file", the path to a
  # HuJSON file containing ACL policies.
  path: ""

## DNS
#
# headscale supports Tailscale's DNS configuration and MagicDNS.
# Please have a look to their KB to better understand the concepts:
#
# - https://tailscale.com/kb/1054/dns/
# - https://tailscale.com/kb/1081/magicdns/
# - https://tailscale.com/blog/2021-09-private-dns-with-magicdns/
#
# Please note that for the DNS configuration to have any effect,
# clients must have the `--accept-dns=true` option enabled. This is the
# default for the Tailscale client. This option is enabled by default
# in the Tailscale client.
#
# Setting _any_ of the configuration and `--accept-dns=true` on the
# clients will integrate with the DNS manager on the client or
# overwrite /etc/resolv.conf.
# https://tailscale.com/kb/1235/resolv-conf
#
# If you want stop Headscale from managing the DNS configuration
# all the fields under `dns` should be set to empty values.
dns:
  # Whether to use [MagicDNS](https://tailscale.com/kb/1081/magicdns/).
  magic_dns: true

  # Defines the base domain to create the hostnames for MagicDNS.
  # This domain _must_ be different from the server_url domain.
  # `base_domain` must be a FQDN, without the trailing dot.
  # The FQDN of the hosts will be
  # `hostname.base_domain` (e.g., _myhost.example.com_).
  base_domain: <hs.example.com>

  # List of DNS servers to expose to clients.
  nameservers:
    global:
      - 1.1.1.1
      - 1.0.0.1
      - 2606:4700:4700::1111
      - 2606:4700:4700::1001

      # NextDNS (see https://tailscale.com/kb/1218/nextdns/).
      # "abc123" is example NextDNS ID, replace with yours.
      # - https://dns.nextdns.io/abc123

    # Split DNS (see https://tailscale.com/kb/1054/dns/),
    # a map of domains and which DNS server to use for each.
    split:
      {}
      # foo.bar.com:
      #   - 1.1.1.1
      # darp.headscale.net:
      #   - 1.1.1.1
      #   - 8.8.8.8

  # Set custom DNS search domains. With MagicDNS enabled,
  # your tailnet base_domain is always the first search domain.
  search_domains: []

  # Extra DNS records
  # so far only A and AAAA records are supported (on the tailscale side)
  # See: docs/ref/dns.md
  extra_records: []
  #   - name: "grafana.myvpn.example.com"
  #     type: "A"
  #     value: "100.64.0.3"
  #
  #   # you can also put it in one line
  #   - { name: "prometheus.myvpn.example.com", type: "A", value: "100.64.0.3" }
  #
  # Alternatively, extra DNS records can be loaded from a JSON file.
  # Headscale processes this file on each change.
  # extra_records_path: /var/lib/headscale/extra-records.json

# Unix socket used for the CLI to connect without authentication
# Note: for production you will want to set this to something like:
unix_socket: /var/run/headscale/headscale.sock
unix_socket_permission: "0770"
#
# headscale supports experimental OpenID connect support,
# it is still being tested and might have some bugs, please
# help us test it.
# OpenID Connect
oidc:
  only_start_if_oidc_is_available: true
  issuer: "https://your-oidc.issuer.com/path"
  client_id: "your-oidc-client-id"
  client_secret: "your-oidc-client-secret"
  # Alternatively, set `client_secret_path` to read the secret from the file.
  # It resolves environment variables, making integration to systemd's
  # `LoadCredential` straightforward:
#   client_secret_path: "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/oidc_client_secret"
#   # client_secret and client_secret_path are mutually exclusive.

  # The amount of time from a node is authenticated with OpenID until it
  # expires and needs to reauthenticate.
  # Setting the value to "0" will mean no expiry.
  expiry: 180d

  # Use the expiry from the token received from OpenID when the user logged
  # in, this will typically lead to frequent need to reauthenticate and should
  # only been enabled if you know what you are doing.
  # Note: enabling this will cause `oidc.expiry` to be ignored.
  use_expiry_from_token: false

  # Customize the scopes used in the OIDC flow, defaults to "openid", "profile" and "email" and add custom query
  # parameters to the Authorize Endpoint request. Scopes default to "openid", "profile" and "email".

  scope: ["openid", "profile", "email"]
#   extra_params:
#     domain_hint: example.com
#
#   # List allowed principal domains and/or users. If an authenticated user's domain is not in this list, the
#   # authentication request will be rejected.
#
#   allowed_domains:
#     - example.com
#   # Note: Groups from keycloak have a leading '/'
#   allowed_groups:
#     - /headscale
#   allowed_users:
#     - [email protected]
#
#   # Optional: PKCE (Proof Key for Code Exchange) configuration
#   # PKCE adds an additional layer of security to the OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow
#   # by preventing authorization code interception attacks
#   # See https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc7636
#   pkce:
#     # Enable or disable PKCE support (default: false)
#     enabled: false
#     # PKCE method to use:
#     # - plain: Use plain code verifier
#     # - S256: Use SHA256 hashed code verifier (default, recommended)
#     method: S256
#
#   # Map legacy users from pre-0.24.0 versions of headscale to the new OIDC users
#   # by taking the username from the legacy user and matching it with the username
#   # provided by the OIDC. This is useful when migrating from legacy users to OIDC
#   # to force them using the unique identifier from the OIDC and to give them a
#   # proper display name and picture if available.
#   # Note that this will only work if the username from the legacy user is the same
#   # and there is a possibility for account takeover should a username have changed
#   # with the provider.
#   # When this feature is disabled, it will cause all new logins to be created as new users.
#   # Note this option will be removed in the future and should be set to false
#   # on all new installations, or when all users have logged in with OIDC once.
#   map_legacy_users: false

# Logtail configuration
# Logtail is Tailscales logging and auditing infrastructure, it allows the control panel
# to instruct tailscale nodes to log their activity to a remote server.
logtail:
  # Enable logtail for this headscales clients.
  # As there is currently no support for overriding the log server in headscale, this is
  # disabled by default. Enabling this will make your clients send logs to Tailscale Inc.
  enabled: false

# Enabling this option makes devices prefer a random port for WireGuard traffic over the
# default static port 41641. This option is intended as a workaround for some buggy
# firewall devices. See https://tailscale.com/kb/1181/firewalls/ for more information.
randomize_client_port: false

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server:
    host: "0.0.0.0"
    port: 3000
    cookie_secret: "32-character-long-random-string"
    cookie_secure: false

headscale:
    url: "https://<headscale.example.com>"
    config_path: "/etc/headscale/config.yaml"
    config_strict: true

integration:
    docker:
        enabled: true
        container_name: "headscale"
        socket: "unix:///var/run/docker.sock"

oidc:
  issuer: "https://<authelia.example.com>"
  client_id: "headplane"

  # The client secret for the OIDC client
  # Either this or `client_secret_path` must be set for OIDC to work
  client_secret: "some-random-client-secret"
  # You can alternatively set `client_secret_path` to read the secret from disk.
  # The path specified can resolve environment variables, making integration
  # with systemd's `LoadCredential` straightforward:
  # client_secret_path: "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/oidc_client_secret"

  disable_api_key_login: false
  token_endpoint_auth_method: "client_secret_post"

  # If you are using OIDC, you need to generate an API key
  # that can be used to authenticate other sessions when signing in.
  #
  # This can be done with `headscale apikeys create --expiration 999d`
  headscale_api_key: "your-headscale-api-key"

  # Optional, but highly recommended otherwise Headplane
  # will attempt to automatically guess this from the issuer
  #
  # This should point to your publicly accessibly URL
  # for your Headplane instance with /admin/oidc/callback
  redirect_uri: 'https://<url-to-your-headplane>/admin/oidc/callback'

  # Stores the users and their permissions for Headplane
  # This is a path to a JSON file, default is specified below.
  user_storage_file: "/var/lib/headplane/users.json"

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identity_providers:
  oidc:
    clients:
      - client_id: 'headplane'
        client_name: 'Headplane OIDC Client'
        client_secret: 'client-secret'
        public: false
        authorization_policy: one_factor
        redirect_uris:
          - 'https://example.com/oidc/callback'
        scopes:
          - openid
          - profile
          - email
        grant_types:
          - authorization_code
        response_types:
          - code
        token_endpoint_auth_method: client_secret_post

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docker-compose up -d

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docker exec -it headscale headscale apikeys create --expiration 999d

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tailscale up --login-server https://<headscale.example.com>

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docker exec -it headscale headscale preauthkeys create --reusable --user your_user --expiration=72h

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tailscale up --authkey <your_preauth_key>

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journalctl -u tailscaled -f

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Apr 30 20:34:36 fedora tailscaled[1058]: control: LoginInteractive -> regen=true
Apr 30 20:34:36 fedora tailscaled[1058]: control: doLogin(regen=true, hasUrl=false)
Apr 30 20:34:36 fedora tailscaled[1058]: control: control server key from https://<headscale domain name>: ts2021=[lx/4O], legacy=
Apr 30 20:34:36 fedora tailscaled[1058]: control: Generating a new nodekey.
Apr 30 20:34:36 fedora tailscaled[1058]: control: RegisterReq: onode= node=[W5uIA] fup=false nks=false
Apr 30 20:34:36 fedora tailscaled[1058]: control: controlhttp: forcing port 443 dial due to recent noise dial
Apr 30 20:34:46 fedora tailscaled[1058]: Received error: register request: Post "https://<headscale domain name>/machine/register": connection attempts aborted by context: context deadline exceeded

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docker logs <headscale_container_name>

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2025-04-30T21:45:45-04:00 WRN home/runner/work/headscale/headscale/hscontrol/noise.go:66 > No Upgrade header in TS2021 request. If headscale is behind a reverse proxy, make sure it is configured to pass WebSockets through.

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location / {
    proxy_pass http://<headscale_ip>:<headscale_port>;

    proxy_http_version 1.1;
    proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
    proxy_set_header Connection "upgrade";

    proxy_set_header Host $host;
    proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
}

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Jun 24 15:29:02 fedora.attlocal.net tailscaled[885490]: Received error: register request: Post "https://headscale.example.com/machine/register": connection attempts aborted by context: context deadline exceeded
Jun 24 15:29:02 fedora.attlocal.net tailscaled[885490]: control: LoginInteractive -> regen=true
Jun 24 15:29:02 fedora.attlocal.net tailscaled[885490]: control: doLogin(regen=true, hasUrl=false)
Jun 24 15:29:02 fedora.attlocal.net tailscaled[885490]: control: control server key from https://headscale.example.com: ts2021=[lx/4O], legacy=
Jun 24 15:29:02 fedora.attlocal.net tailscaled[885490]: control: Generating a new nodekey.
Jun 24 15:29:02 fedora.attlocal.net tailscaled[885490]: control: RegisterReq: onode= node=[yFWNe] fup=false nks=false
Jun 24 15:29:02 fedora.attlocal.net tailscaled[885490]: control: controlhttp: forcing port 443 dial due to recent noise dial

1

2025-06-24T17:53:20Z WRN home/runner/work/headscale/headscale/hscontrol/noise.go:66 > No Upgrade header in TS2021 request. If headscale is behind a reverse proxy, make sure it is configured to pass WebSockets through.