Tailscale MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for operating Tailscale from any MCP client. Supports local stdio for desktop clients and an authenticated HTTP transport for private tailnet deployments. Defaults to read-only access, localhost binding, and short-lived OAuth credentials where available.

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Table of Contents

• Features
• Requirements
• Quick Start
  • Claude Desktop
  • Claude Code (CLI)
  • Cursor
• Tool Reference
• Resources and Prompts
• Configuration
• HTTP Transport
• Docker
• Example Prompts
• Development
• Contributing

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Features

• Device management — list, authorize, deauthorize, delete, expire keys, manage routes.
• Network operations — connect/disconnect host, ping peers, get CLI status and version.
• Administration — tailnet info, file sharing, exit nodes, webhooks, device tags, server version.
• ACL and policy — read/validate/update ACL, DNS settings, auth keys, policy file, network lock.
• Read-only resources — tailnet summary, device list, per-device detail, current ACL.
• Prompts — guided connectivity diagnosis and ACL change review.
• Risk-gated tools — read, write, and admin levels via TAILSCALE_ALLOWED_TOOL_RISK.
• OAuth + API key — OAuth client credentials (preferred) or legacy API key.
• Private HTTP mode — bearer auth, Host validation, request size limits, health check endpoint.
• Docker support — pre-built images on Docker Hub and GHCR; sidecar deployment with Tailscale Serve.

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Requirements

One of:

• Node.js 20+ — run via npx or install globally (no extra runtime needed).
• Bun 1.3+ — used for development; also works as a production runtime.
• Docker — use the pre-built image (no local runtime required).

Plus one auth method:

• OAuth client credentials: TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID + TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET (preferred).
• Legacy API key: TAILSCALE_API_KEY.

The local Tailscale CLI is optional. It is only required for CLI-backed tools: get_network_status, connect_network, disconnect_network, ping_peer, get_version, and manage_exit_nodes (set/clear operations).

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Quick Start

Claude Desktop

Edit ~/.claude/claude_desktop_config.json (create if absent).

OAuth credentials (recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tailscale": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID": "your-client-id",
        "TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET": "your-client-secret",
        "TAILSCALE_TAILNET": "-"
      }
    }
  }
}

API key

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tailscale": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "TAILSCALE_API_KEY": "tskey-api-...",
        "TAILSCALE_TAILNET": "-"
      }
    }
  }
}

Enable write/admin tools

Add TAILSCALE_ALLOWED_TOOL_RISK to the env block:

"TAILSCALE_ALLOWED_TOOL_RISK": "write"

Set to "admin" to unlock destructive operations (delete, deauthorize, connect/disconnect, key mutation).

Docker Hub

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tailscale": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run", "--rm", "-i",
        "-e", "TAILSCALE_API_KEY=tskey-api-...",
        "-e", "TAILSCALE_TAILNET=your-tailnet",
        "hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server:latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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Claude Code (CLI)

claude mcp add tailscale \
  -e TAILSCALE_API_KEY=tskey-api-... \
  -e TAILSCALE_TAILNET=- \
  -- npx -y @hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server

With write access:

claude mcp add tailscale \
  -e TAILSCALE_API_KEY=tskey-api-... \
  -e TAILSCALE_TAILNET=- \
  -e TAILSCALE_ALLOWED_TOOL_RISK=write \
  -- npx -y @hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server

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Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json (project) or ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "tailscale": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "TAILSCALE_API_KEY": "tskey-api-...",
        "TAILSCALE_TAILNET": "-"
      }
    }
  }
}

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Tool Reference

Devices

Tool	Description	Min risk
list_devices	List all devices in the configured tailnet	read
device_action	Authorize or expire a device key (write); deauthorize or delete (admin)	write / admin
manage_routes	Enable or disable advertised routes for a device	write

Network

Tool	Description	Min risk
get_network_status	Get current Tailscale network status via local CLI	read
connect_network	Connect this host to Tailscale with optional CLI flags	admin
disconnect_network	Disconnect this host from Tailscale	admin
ping_peer	Ping a Tailscale peer through the local CLI	read
get_version	Get local Tailscale CLI version information	read

Administration

Tool	Description	Min risk
get_tailnet_info	Get detailed information about the configured tailnet	read
manage_file_sharing	Read (read) or update (write) tailnet file sharing settings	read / write
manage_exit_nodes	List exit nodes (read); set, clear, advertise, or stop advertising (admin)	read / admin
manage_webhooks	List webhooks (read); create, delete, or test webhooks (write)	read / write
manage_device_tags	Read (read) or update (write) tags for a device	read / write
get_version_info	Return server version identifier	read

ACL and Policy

Tool	Description	Min risk
manage_acl	Read (read), validate, or update (write) the tailnet ACL policy	read / write
manage_dns	Read (read) or update (write) Tailscale DNS settings	read / write
manage_keys	List auth keys (read); create or delete (admin)	read / admin
manage_policy_file	Read (read) or update (write) the tailnet policy file	read / write
manage_network_lock	Network lock status (read) and mutation operations (admin)	read / admin

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Resources and Prompts

Resources (read-only)

URI	Description
tailscale://tailnet/summary	High-level tailnet summary
tailscale://devices	All devices in the tailnet
tailscale://devices/{deviceId}	Detail for a single device
tailscale://acl/current	Current ACL policy

Prompts

Name	Description
diagnose_tailnet_connectivity	Guided diagnostic for connectivity issues
review_acl_change	Structured review workflow for ACL policy changes

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Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID	—	OAuth client ID (preferred auth method)
TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET	—	OAuth client secret (required with CLIENT_ID)
TAILSCALE_API_KEY	—	Legacy API key fallback
TAILSCALE_TAILNET	-	Tailnet name or - shorthand for the default tailnet
TAILSCALE_API_BASE_URL	https://api.tailscale.com	Tailscale API base URL (https required except for localhost)
TAILSCALE_ALLOWED_TOOL_RISK	read	Maximum allowed tool risk: read, write, or admin
TAILSCALE_CLI_PATH	tailscale	Path to the local Tailscale CLI binary
MCP_TRANSPORT	stdio	Transport mode: stdio or http
MCP_HTTP_BIND_HOST	127.0.0.1	Host to bind in HTTP mode
MCP_HTTP_PORT	3000	Port to bind in HTTP mode
MCP_HTTP_BEARER_TOKEN	—	Required for HTTP mode (minimum 32 characters)
MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS	—	Comma-separated additional allowed HTTP Host header values
LOG_LEVEL	info	Log verbosity: debug, info, warn, or error
MCP_SERVER_LOG_FILE	—	Optional file path for log output

Risk levels

• read — list devices, inspect status, read resources, run diagnostics.
• write — update ACLs, DNS, routes, policy files, webhooks, tags, and other mutating settings.
• admin — destructive or host-affecting operations: delete, deauthorize, connect, disconnect, auth key mutation, file sharing changes, exit node control.

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HTTP Transport

HTTP mode is intended for private tailnet access. It requires MCP_HTTP_BEARER_TOKEN and binds to 127.0.0.1 by default.

export MCP_TRANSPORT=http
export MCP_HTTP_BEARER_TOKEN="$(openssl rand -base64 32)"
export TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID="your-client-id"
export TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET="your-client-secret"
export TAILSCALE_TAILNET="-"

npx -y @hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server --http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3000

Expose privately with Tailscale Serve (recommended for tailnet deployments):

tailscale serve --bg 443 localhost:3000

Do not use Tailscale Funnel for normal MCP operation. Funnel makes the endpoint publicly reachable on the internet.

A GET /health endpoint returns 200 OK when the server is running.

For full Docker sidecar deployment instructions, see docs/docker.md.

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Docker

Run with Docker Hub image

docker run --rm \
  -e TAILSCALE_API_KEY="tskey-api-..." \
  -e TAILSCALE_TAILNET="-" \
  -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 \
  hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server:latest

Run with GHCR image

docker run --rm \
  -e TAILSCALE_API_KEY="tskey-api-..." \
  -e TAILSCALE_TAILNET="-" \
  -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 \
  ghcr.io/hexsleeves/tailscale-mcp-server:latest

Build locally

docker build -t tailscale-mcp-server .

For sidecar deployment with Tailscale Serve, see docs/docker.md.

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Example Prompts

Once the server is connected to your MCP client, try these:

• "List my Tailscale devices and show which ones are offline."
• "What is the current Tailscale network status on this machine?"
• "Diagnose connectivity to my NAS at 100.64.0.5."
• "Show me the current ACL policy for my tailnet."
• "Review this ACL change before I apply it." (attach the new policy)
• "What DNS nameservers is my tailnet using?"
• "List all active webhooks in my tailnet."

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Development

# Install dependencies (Bun required for development)
bun install

# Type check
bun run typecheck

# Run tests
bun test

# Lint and format
bun run check

# Build
bun run build

# Full verification (typecheck + lint + test + build)
bun run qa:full

# Security audit
bun audit

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full development workflow, commit conventions, and release process.

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.

• CONTRIBUTING.md — development setup, commit conventions, PR process.
• SECURITY.md — responsible disclosure policy.
• LICENSE — MIT.