headscale/docs/windows-client.md
nblock bac7ea67f4
Simplify windows setup instructions (#2114)
* Simplify /windows to the bare minimum. Also remove the
  /windows/tailscale.reg endpoint as its generated file is no longer
  valid for current Tailscale versions.
* Update and simplify the windows documentation accordingly.
* Add a "Unattended mode" section to the troubleshooting section
  explaining how to enable "Unattended mode" in the via the Tailscale
  tray icon.
* Add infobox about /windows to the docs

Tested on Windows 10, 22H2 with Tailscale 1.72.0

Replaces: #1995
See: #2096
2024-09-09 13:18:16 +02:00

61 lines
2.1 KiB
Markdown

# Connecting a Windows client
## Goal
This documentation has the goal of showing how a user can use the official Windows [Tailscale](https://tailscale.com) client with `headscale`.
## Installation
Download the [Official Windows Client](https://tailscale.com/download/windows) and install it.
## Configuring the headscale URL
!!! info "Instructions on your headscale instance"
An endpoint with information on how to connect your Windows device
is also available at `/windows` on your running instance.
Open a Command Prompt or Powershell and use Tailscale's login command to connect with your headscale instance (e.g
`https://headscale.example.com`):
```
tailscale login --login-server <YOUR_HEADSCALE_URL>
```
Follow the instructions in the opened browser window to finish the configuration.
## Troubleshooting
### Unattended mode
By default, Tailscale's Windows client is only running when the user is logged in. If you want to keep Tailscale running
all the time, please enable "Unattended mode":
- Click on the Tailscale tray icon and select `Preferences`
- Enable `Run unattended`
- Confirm the "Unattended mode" message
See also [Keep Tailscale running when I'm not logged in to my computer](https://tailscale.com/kb/1088/run-unattended)
### Failing node registration
If you are seeing repeated messages like:
```
[GIN] 2022/02/10 - 16:39:34 | 200 | 1.105306ms | 127.0.0.1 | POST "/machine/redacted"
```
in your `headscale` output, turn on `DEBUG` logging and look for:
```
2022-02-11T00:59:29Z DBG Machine registration has expired. Sending a authurl to register machine=redacted
```
This typically means that the registry keys above was not set appropriately.
To reset and try again, it is important to do the following:
1. Shut down the Tailscale service (or the client running in the tray)
2. Delete Tailscale Application data folder, located at `C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Tailscale` and try to connect again.
3. Ensure the Windows node is deleted from headscale (to ensure fresh setup)
4. Start Tailscale on the Windows machine and retry the login.