{
  "@context": [
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  "@type": "SoftwareApplication",
  "@id": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/tailscale/#software",
  "name": "Tailscale",
  "description": "Zero Trust connectivity platform that builds an encrypted peer-to-peer mesh between your devices using WireGuard, instead of routing traffic through a central VPN gateway.",
  "url": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/tailscale/",
  "mainEntityOfPage": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/tailscale/",
  "operatingSystem": "macOS",
  "applicationCategory": "UtilitiesApplication",
  "publisher": {
    "name": "Tailscale",
    "url": "https://tailscale.com/"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://tailscale.com/",
    "https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale"
  ],
  "softwareVersion": "1.102.4",
  "license": "BSD-3-Clause",
  "nuanyue:record": {
    "schemaVersion": 1,
    "id": "software:tailscale",
    "slug": "tailscale",
    "name": "Tailscale",
    "type": "SoftwareApplication",
    "entityType": "VPN client",
    "description": "Zero Trust connectivity platform that builds an encrypted peer-to-peer mesh between your devices using WireGuard, instead of routing traffic through a central VPN gateway.",
    "shortDescription": "WireGuard-based mesh network for connecting devices and services.",
    "answer": "Tailscale connects devices and services into a private encrypted network rather than routing everything through a central VPN gateway. It builds a peer-to-peer mesh, called a tailnet, over the open-source WireGuard protocol, so devices talk to each other directly and traffic does not have to pass through a single choke point. Access is identity-based, meaning policies are attached to users and groups rather than to IP addresses, and connections cross firewalls and NAT without port forwarding. It can also be used like a traditional VPN by routing all traffic through an exit node. The free Personal plan covers up to six users with unlimited devices but is for non-commercial use only. It suits people who want their own devices and servers reachable from anywhere without running a VPN server.",
    "page": "https://www.nuanyue.com/software/tailscale/",
    "dataUrl": "https://www.nuanyue.com/data/software/tailscale.json",
    "categories": [
      "networking"
    ],
    "tags": [],
    "platform": [
      "macOS"
    ],
    "architecture": [],
    "featured": false,
    "pricing": "freemium",
    "pricingDescription": "Personal is $0 and free forever, for up to 6 users with unlimited user devices, 3 ACL groups and 50 tagged resources, but it is licensed for non-commercial use only. Standard is $8 per user per month and Premium is $18 per user per month; Enterprise is custom. Tagged resources beyond the included 50 cost $1 each per month. Business customers get a 14-day trial with no user limit.",
    "license": "BSD-3-Clause",
    "currentVersion": "1.102.4",
    "releaseDate": "2026-09-29",
    "openSource": false,
    "website": "https://tailscale.com/",
    "documentation": "https://tailscale.com/kb/",
    "github": "https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale",
    "download": "https://pkgs.tailscale.com/stable/Tailscale-1.102.4-macos.pkg",
    "developer": {
      "name": "Tailscale",
      "website": "https://tailscale.com/"
    },
    "icon": "/apps/tailscale.png",
    "features": [
      "Peer-to-peer mesh network (a tailnet) instead of a central gateway",
      "Built on the open-source WireGuard protocol, with encrypted point-to-point connections",
      "Zero Trust access policies attached to identity rather than IP address",
      "Works across firewalls and NAT without port forwarding or firewall rules",
      "Exit nodes let you route all traffic like a traditional VPN",
      "Tailnet Lock for additional protection of the network's control plane",
      "Cross-platform and infrastructure agnostic",
      "Direct device-to-device paths, which the vendor states improves throughput and latency"
    ],
    "useCases": [
      "Reaching your own machines and servers from anywhere without running a VPN server",
      "Connecting a distributed team to internal resources without exposing them publicly",
      "Linking devices across cloud providers into one private network",
      "Giving a homelab or media server a stable private address"
    ],
    "formats": [],
    "integrations": [],
    "pros": [
      {
        "text": "Connects devices peer to peer over WireGuard, so traffic can flow directly instead of through a central gateway.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "documentation",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "text": "Uses identity-based access policies rather than IP-based firewall rules.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "text": "Crosses firewalls and NAT without port forwarding or manual firewall configuration.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "documentation",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "text": "Can route all traffic through an exit node, behaving like a conventional VPN when that is wanted.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "documentation",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "text": "The free Personal plan allows unlimited user devices, which is unusual among connectivity products.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ],
    "cons": [
      {
        "text": "The free Personal plan is restricted to non-commercial use, so a business cannot run on it.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "text": "The macOS, iOS and Windows GUI wrappers are not open source, so the client you install is not fully auditable even though the daemon is.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "text": "It depends on Tailscale's hosted coordination service rather than being self-hosted only.",
        "status": "derived",
        "source": "documentation",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ],
    "whoIsItFor": [
      "Individuals and small teams who want their devices on one private network",
      "Organisations that need identity-based access instead of IP-based firewall rules"
    ],
    "notFor": [
      "Anyone who needs a paid plan's feature set on the free tier — Personal is limited to 6 users and is non-commercial only",
      "Users who need the whole stack auditable, since the GUI clients and the coordination service are not open source"
    ],
    "limitations": [
      "The free Personal plan is for non-commercial use only and caps users at 6",
      "The GUI wrappers for macOS, iOS and Windows are not open source, even though the daemon and CLI are",
      "Running the service requires the vendor's coordination server; it is not a self-hosted-only product",
      "Apple Silicon support is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks"
    ],
    "firstUse": {
      "installation": {
        "value": "A signed macOS package is published on the vendor's package server, or the App Store build can be used.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "firstLaunch": {
        "value": "Sign in to an identity provider on each device; authenticating two or more devices creates a tailnet with a default allow-all policy.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "documentation",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "systemIntegration": {
        "value": "Runs a background daemon (tailscaled) that manages the network, with a menu bar control for the GUI client.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      "appleSilicon": {
        "value": null,
        "status": "unknown"
      }
    },
    "updates": [],
    "faq": [
      {
        "question": "Is Tailscale free?",
        "answer": "There is a free tier. The Personal plan is $0 and free forever for up to 6 users with unlimited user devices, 3 ACL groups and 50 tagged resources, but it is licensed for non-commercial use only. Paid plans start at $8 per user per month.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "official",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "How is Tailscale different from a traditional VPN?",
        "answer": "A traditional VPN routes traffic through a central gateway. Tailscale builds a peer-to-peer mesh, so devices connect directly to each other, which the vendor states gives higher throughput and lower latency and avoids a single point of failure. It can still be used as a traditional VPN through an exit node.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "documentation",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "What protocol does Tailscale use?",
        "answer": "It uses the open-source WireGuard protocol to create encrypted point-to-point connections between devices on your private network.",
        "status": "developer-stated",
        "source": "documentation",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "question": "Is Tailscale open source?",
        "answer": "Partly. The repository contains the majority of Tailscale's open source code, including the tailscaled daemon and the tailscale CLI. However, the GUI wrappers for macOS, iOS and Windows are not open source.",
        "status": "verified",
        "source": "repository",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ],
    "relationships": [
      {
        "target": "cloudflare-warp",
        "type": "competitor",
        "reason": "Both provide identity-aware private network access without a conventional VPN concentrator, but Tailscale builds a peer-to-peer mesh while WARP routes through Cloudflare's network.",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "target": "mullvad-vpn",
        "type": "similar",
        "reason": "Both build encrypted tunnels and both offer WireGuard, but Mullvad is an anonymity VPN that hides your traffic from a destination while Tailscale is for reaching your own private resources.",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "target": "tunnelblick",
        "type": "alternative",
        "reason": "Both connect a Mac to a private network, but Tunnelblick is an OpenVPN client for a conventional VPN server while Tailscale creates the mesh itself without a server to run.",
        "verifiedAt": "2026-10-05T00:00:00.000Z"
      }
    ],
    "sources": [
      {
        "id": "tailscale:official",
        "type": "official_website",
        "url": "https://tailscale.com/",
        "title": "Tailscale — official website",
        "trustLevel": "B",
        "accessedAt": null
      },
      {
        "id": "tailscale:developer",
        "type": "developer",
        "url": "https://tailscale.com/",
        "title": "Tailscale — developer website",
        "trustLevel": "B",
        "accessedAt": null
      },
      {
        "id": "tailscale:documentation",
        "type": "documentation",
        "url": "https://tailscale.com/kb/",
        "title": "Tailscale — documentation",
        "trustLevel": "C",
        "accessedAt": null
      },
      {
        "id": "tailscale:repository",
        "type": "github",
        "url": "https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale",
        "title": "Tailscale — source repository",
        "trustLevel": "D",
        "accessedAt": null
      }
    ],
    "claims": [
      {
        "id": "software:tailscale.isA",
        "subject": "software:tailscale",
        "predicate": "isA",
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        "id": "software:tailscale.supportsPlatform",
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        "id": "software:tailscale.pricingModel",
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        "id": "software:tailscale.ownership",
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        "predicate": "ownership",
        "value": "Third-party product — not published by Nuanyue",
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        "id": "software:tailscale.licensedUnder",
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        "id": "software:tailscale.hasFeature",
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        "value": "The free Personal plan allows unlimited user devices, which is unusual among connectivity products.",
        "status": "verified",
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        "lastVerified": "2026-10-05"
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    "lastUpdated": "2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z",
    "lastReviewedAt": null
  }
}