Headscale: Open-source implementation of the Tailscale
Headscale is a self-hosted remote access and vpn tool. Open-source implementation of the Tailscale control server.
Why self-host Headscale
The case for running Headscale at home is straightforward: you get the full feature set, no subscription cost, and no data sitting on someone else’s server.
What it does
Headscale falls into the Remote Access, VPN category of self-hosted software. It is designed to be deployed on your own infrastructure, whether that is a home server, a VPS, or a local machine running Docker.
Community traction
The project has 21k stars on GitHub, which is a reasonable proxy for how widely it is used. Active repositories tend to ship bug fixes faster and have better documentation than projects that stall after the initial release.
Deployment
Like most modern self-hosted apps, Headscale supports Docker. A single compose file handles the deployment in most cases.
Maturity
The current version is 0.22.3, which means the project is still pre-1.0. That is not a disqualifier, but it is worth checking the changelog before upgrading in a setup where stability matters.
License
It is licensed under BSD-3-Clause, making it freely available for personal and commercial use.
Links
Whether you are just starting with self-hosting or adding to an existing setup, Headscale is a reasonable pick in the remote access and vpn space.