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Configuration reference
Headscale will look for a configuration file named config.yaml (or config.json) in the following order:
/etc/headscale~/.headscale- current working directory
server_url: http://headscale.mydomain.net
listen_addr: 0.0.0.0:8080
ip_prefix: 100.64.0.0/10
server_url is the external URL via which Headscale is reachable. listen_addr is the IP address and port the Headscale program should listen on. ip_prefix is the IP prefix (range) in which IP addresses for nodes will be allocated (default 100.64.0.0/10, e.g., 192.168.4.0/24, 10.0.0.0/8)
log_level: debug
log_level can be used to set the Log level for Headscale, it defaults to debug, and the available levels are: trace, debug, info, warn and error.
private_key_path: private.key
private_key_path is the path to the Wireguard private key. If the path is relative, it will be interpreted as relative to the directory the configuration file was read from.
derp_map_path: derp.yaml
derp_map_path is the path to the DERP map file. If the path is relative, it will be interpreted as relative to the directory the configuration file was read from.
ephemeral_node_inactivity_timeout": "30m"
ephemeral_node_inactivity_timeout is the timeout after which inactive ephemeral node records will be deleted from the database. The default is 30 minutes. This value must be higher than 65 seconds (the keepalive timeout for the HTTP long poll is 60 seconds, plus a few seconds to avoid race conditions).
PostgresSQL
db_host: localhost
db_port: 5432
db_name: headscale
db_user: foo
db_pass: bar
SQLite
db_type: sqlite3
db_path: db.sqlite
The fields starting with db_ are used for the DB connection information.
Running the service via TLS (optional)
tls_cert_path: ''
tls_key_path: ''
Headscale can be configured to expose its web service via TLS. To configure the certificate and key file manually, set the tls_cert_path and tls_cert_path configuration parameters. If the path is relative, it will be interpreted as relative to the directory the configuration file was read from.
tls_letsencrypt_hostname: ''
tls_letsencrypt_listen: ":http"
tls_letsencrypt_cache_dir: ".cache"
tls_letsencrypt_challenge_type: HTTP-01
To get a certificate automatically via Let's Encrypt, set tls_letsencrypt_hostname to the desired certificate hostname. This name must resolve to the IP address(es) Headscale is reachable on (i.e., it must correspond to the server_url configuration parameter). The certificate and Let's Encrypt account credentials will be stored in the directory configured in tls_letsencrypt_cache_dir. If the path is relative, it will be interpreted as relative to the directory the configuration file was read from. The certificate will automatically be renewed as needed.
Challenge type HTTP-01
The default challenge type HTTP-01 requires that Headscale is reachable on port 80 for the Let's Encrypt automated validation, in addition to whatever port is configured in listen_addr. By default, Headscale listens on port 80 on all local IPs for Let's Encrypt automated validation.
If you need to change the ip and/or port used by Headscale for the Let's Encrypt validation process, set tls_letsencrypt_listen to the appropriate value. This can be handy if you are running Headscale as a non-root user (or can't run setcap). Keep in mind, however, that Let's Encrypt will only connect to port 80 for the validation callback, so if you change tls_letsencrypt_listen you will also need to configure something else (e.g. a firewall rule) to forward the traffic from port 80 to the ip:port combination specified in tls_letsencrypt_listen.
Challenge type TLS-ALPN-01
Alternatively, tls_letsencrypt_challenge_type can be set to TLS-ALPN-01. In this configuration, Headscale listens on the ip:port combination defined in listen_addr. Let's Encrypt will only connect to port 443 for the validation callback, so if listen_addr is not set to port 443, something else (e.g. a firewall rule) will be required to forward the traffic from port 443 to the ip:port combination specified in listen_addr.
Policy ACLs
Headscale implements the same policy ACLs as Tailscale.com, adapted to the self-hosted environment.
For instance, instead of referring to users when defining groups you must use namespaces (which are the equivalent to user/logins in Tailscale.com).
Please check https://tailscale.com/kb/1018/acls/, and ./tests/acls/ in this repo for working examples.
Apple devices
An endpoint with information on how to connect your Apple devices (currently macOS only) is available at /apple on your running instance.
Disclaimer
- We have nothing to do with Tailscale, or Tailscale Inc.
- The purpose of writing this was to learn how Tailscale works.