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headscale-admin

Headscale-Admin is meant to be a simple, modern web interface for juanfont/headscale - "An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control…

  • Network Services
  • Tools & Utilities
Headscale-Admin is meant to be a simple, modern web interface for juanfont/headscale - "An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server." Headscale-Admin should currently be considered a beta application. It is very much still in active development and should not be treated as a final product, but when used properly, it should be safe to run in a production environment. You need to host both headscale and Headscale-Admin on the same DNS record. For NPM use Custom locations and use /admin/ as location and forward IP and port from this docker. Go into headscale console and issue a "headscale apikeys create" command to get your API key.

Platform availability

Available on 2 of 6 install platforms

  • Unraid
  • TrueNAS
  • Umbrel (not listed)
  • ZimaOS (not listed)
  • Proxmox (not listed)
  • Helm (not listed)

Also on Docker Hub and GitHub

Health score

40/100 Fair

Maintained
30last commit 432 days ago
Popular
611,113 GitHub stars
Easy to install
351 install platform, install notes, Docker image
Light to run
No data

Based on 3 of 4 factors.

How is this calculated?

A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked yesterday

GitHub stars
1,113
Open issues
21
Last commit
2025-07-30
Latest release
v0.28.0
License
GPL-3.0
Activity
stale

Checked 7 days ago - source: GitHub (GoodiesHQ/headscale-admin)

Resources & Compatibility

ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 7 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Make config and data folders first Before running the container, create the config and lib folders and put your edited config.yaml in the config folder. These folders hold your settings and device/user data, so the container needs them or it may fail or have nowhere to save your network. source
  • Ports 8080/9090 may be local-only The example command publishes ports 8080 and 9090 to 127.0.0.1 only, which means only the machine running Headscale can reach them. Port 8080 is the main API/admin entry point and 9090 is for health/metrics, so if headscale-admin is on another device you’ll need a way to forward those ports to your network. source
  • Keep a backup of config and data Before changing anything, make a backup copy of your config folder and data folder, because they store your Headscale settings, users, and devices. If they are lost or corrupted, you may lose your network and have to set it up again. source

Fetched 7 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (10)

  • Headscale - Headscale aims to implement a self-hosted, open source alternative to the Tailscale control server.
  • LogMeIn Hamachi - Seamlessly connects devices and networks, extending LAN-like connectivity to mobile users and teams with a secure, hosted VPN service.
  • NetBird - NetBird is an open-source Zero Trust networking platform that makes it easy for engineers to create fast, secure, and private networks with…
  • Rayfish - A peer-to-peer mesh VPN with zero infrastructure.
  • SoftEther VPN - SoftEther VPN ("SoftEther" means "Software Ethernet") is one of the world's most powerful and easy-to-use multi-protoco…
  • Tailscale - Private networks made easy.
  • ZeroTier - Zerotier is an open source, cross-platform virtual LAN / VPN
  • defguard
  • defguard---core
  • ngrok - All-in-one API gateway, Kubernetes Ingress, DDoS protection, firewall, and global load balancing as a service.

Checked 4 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

Does headscale-admin need password protection or SSO to secure it?

No, password protection or SSO is not required. The UI is stateless and keeps the API key only in your browser, so securing the API key and using TLS is what matters.

Can headscale-admin be hosted on a subdomain different from headscale?

Yes, but you must allow the headscale-admin domain in headscale's CORS headers so browser requests succeed.

What ports are used in an Unraid reverse-proxy setup for Headscale and Headscale-Admin?

A shared configuration runs Headscale on port 1111 and Headscale-Admin on port 1112, then reverse-proxies them through NGINX Proxy Manager.

What headscale data should I back up before changing it?

Back up the headscale config and data folders before making changes, because they store the settings, users, and devices.

Answers sourced from forums.unraid.net, github.com, headscale.net

Community

Collected yesterday - public community threads