Drive a Tailscale node and its tailnet through the CLI and the control-plane API
To add Tailscale to Claude, run the install command below or copy the ready-made config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code further down. Restart your client after adding it and its tools show up in your next conversation. It needs 7 environment variables, listed below.
Install
npx -y @tailscale-mcp/tailscale-mcp@2.0.5Environment variables
TAILSCALE_API_KEYSet in your MCP configTAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_IDSet in your MCP configTAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRETSet in your MCP configTAILSCALE_TAILNETSet in your MCP configTAILSCALE_MCP_PRESETSet in your MCP configTAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_WRITESet in your MCP configTAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVESet in your MCP configInstall with your client
claude mcp add tailscale --env TAILSCALE_API_KEY=<YOUR_TAILSCALE_API_KEY> --env TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID=<YOUR_TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID> --env TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET=<YOUR_TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET> --env TAILSCALE_TAILNET=<YOUR_TAILSCALE_TAILNET> --env TAILSCALE_MCP_PRESET=<YOUR_TAILSCALE_MCP_PRESET> --env TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE=<YOUR_TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE> --env TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE=<YOUR_TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE> -- npx -y @tailscale-mcp/tailscale-mcp@2.0.5
Run this in a terminal to add the server to Claude Code.
What this does
Tailscale exposes a set of tools to Claude over the Model Context Protocol. After you add it to claude_desktop_config.json (snippet above) and restart Claude Desktop, those tools become callable inside any conversation.
Requirements
This server needs the following environment variables to be set before it can run:
TAILSCALE_API_KEY TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET TAILSCALE_TAILNET TAILSCALE_MCP_PRESET TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE
Set these via the env object in your MCP config (see claude_desktop_config.json snippet above).
Frequently asked questions
How do I install Tailscale?
Run the Claude Code command in the install section to add Tailscale to Claude Code, or copy the ready-made config for your client from the install section on this page. Restart your client afterwards and the tools appear in your next conversation.
Which clients work with Tailscale?
This page carries setup and config for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and VS Code. Any other MCP client that accepts a standard server config can connect to Tailscale as well.
Does Tailscale need an API key?
Yes. Before it can run, set these environment variables: TAILSCALE_API_KEY, TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID, TAILSCALE_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET, TAILSCALE_TAILNET, TAILSCALE_MCP_PRESET, TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_WRITE, TAILSCALE_MCP_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE. They go in the env block of your MCP config.
Imported from the Official MCP Registry. The details above come from the registry entry; the maker can claim this listing to correct them, add docs, and see its traffic.
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