Configuring Tailscale

Set up secure remote access with Tailscale.

Step 1: Install Tailscale

macOS

brew install tailscale

Or download from tailscale.com/download

Linux

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

Windows

Download from tailscale.com/download

Step 2: Create an Account

  1. Go to login.tailscale.com
  2. Sign up with Google, Microsoft, or GitHub
  3. Follow the setup wizard

Step 3: Connect Your Machine

tailscale up

A browser will open to authenticate. After logging in, you’ll see:

Success.

Verify connection:

tailscale status

Step 4: Enable Tailscale Serve

The first time you use tailscale serve, you may need to enable it:

tailscale serve --bg http://localhost:7860

If prompted, visit the URL shown to enable Serve for your account.

Step 5: Start remote-terminal

npm start

You’ll see your Tailscale URL:

[tailscale] Serving localhost:7860 at https://your-machine.ts.net/

Step 6: Access from Other Devices

  1. Install Tailscale on your phone/tablet/other computer
  2. Log in with the same account
  3. Open https://your-machine.ts.net/ in a browser

Using Funnel (Public Access)

To make your terminal publicly accessible:

remote-terminal expose 7860 --funnel

Warning: This exposes your terminal to the entire internet. Use with caution.

Managing Connections

List Devices

tailscale status

Disconnect

tailscale down

Reset Serve Configuration

tailscale serve reset

Or use:

remote-terminal unexpose

Troubleshooting

”Serve is not enabled”

Visit the link in the error to enable Serve for your tailnet.

”Tailscale not connected"

tailscale up

"Device not found”

Make sure both devices are:

  1. Running Tailscale
  2. Logged into the same account
  3. Connected (tailscale status shows “active”)