Tailscale

Tailscale connects your devices and services through an encrypted private network called a tailnet. Built on WireGuard, it is useful for remote access to Macs and servers, team infrastructure, development environments, and home networks without publishing every service to the public internet.

Main features

• Connect authorized devices through encrypted peer-to-peer links, with relays when direct connectivity is unavailable.
• Find devices with Tailscale addresses and MagicDNS names; control who can reach resources through tailnet access policy.
• Access approved subnet routes or select an exit node to route internet traffic through another device.
• Send files between eligible personal devices using Taildrop and inspect device connection details in the macOS interface.
• Use the app, menu bar controls, and optional CLI integration; administrators can manage deployment and policies with MDM.

Installing this macOS edition

Install brew install --cask tailscale-app, then open Tailscale and follow onboarding. This cask installs the official standalone .pkg with the graphical app and system extension, not the CLI-only Homebrew formula or Mac App Store edition. An Apple ID is not needed for this standalone download. Sign in through a supported identity provider to create or join a tailnet; your organization may require device approval.

Authorize the Tailscale networking extension and VPN configuration when prompted. On macOS Sequoia 15 and later, the official guide uses System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions → Network Extensions. On Sonoma 14 and earlier, allow Tailscale in Privacy & Security. Administrator authentication may be required. The standalone app uses a system extension, a safer replacement for legacy kernel extensions; the generic kernel-extension wording in Homebrew's caveat should not be read as the vendor's implementation description.

Requirements, dependencies, and conflicts

The current standalone app requires macOS Monterey 12 or later and supports Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. The Homebrew cask declares this macOS minimum, with no additional formula dependency or explicit cask conflict. The installed system extension and VPN approval remain necessary. Do not install or run the standalone and Mac App Store variants together: competing copies can prevent the extension from launching. When changing variants, follow the vendor's removal and reboot instructions. Other VPN or filtering tools can interfere with the tunnel; the standalone edition can report detected interference.

Tailscale also offers Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and tvOS clients with separate installers and platform requirements. This catalog item is the macOS standalone app. Feature availability differs by platform: for example, the macOS app runs in the user's login session, while the standard Linux client runs as a daemon.

Accounts, costs, and licensing

Normal use of Tailscale's hosted coordination service requires a Tailscale account and identity-provider sign-in. Client downloads are free. The current Personal plan is free for up to six users, with unlimited user devices and separate resource limits; paid Standard, Premium, and Enterprise plans add organizational capacity and controls. Check the pricing page for current limits and billing. Optional commercial add-ons are separate.

The core client repository is open source under the BSD 3-Clause license, with third-party notices. That license should not be generalized to every component of the standalone GUI bundle or the hosted service: the distributed app and service are subject to Tailscale's applicable terms.

Official references: macOS installation, macOS variants, extension approval, client preferences, unattended operation, pricing, client source, and terms.