Tailscale
The Tailscale integrationIntegrations connect and integrate Home Assistant with your devices, services, and more. [Learn more] connects to the Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that creates secure point-to-point connections between your devices using WireGuard technology. This integration monitors your Tailnet but doesn’t provide VPN connectivity itself.
This integration monitors your Tailscale network but does not provide VPN access to Home Assistant.
To access Home Assistant remotely via Tailscale:
- Install Tailscale directly on your Home Assistant device
- Follow the Tailscale installation guide
- Configure port forwarding or use Tailscale’s subnet routes if needed
Prerequisites
Required information:
-
API Access Token: Create one in the Tailscale Admin Panel
- Navigate to Settings > Keys
- Click Generate auth key or Generate API key
- Select appropriate expiration and permissions
-
Tailnet Name: Found in the top-left corner of the Admin Panel
- Usually in the format:
user@domain.com
ororganization-name
- Also visible in the URL when browsing your admin panel
- Usually in the format:
Configuration
To add the Tailscale hub to your Home Assistant instance, use this My button:
Manual configuration steps
If the above My button doesn’t work, you can also perform the following steps manually:
-
Browse to your Home Assistant instance.
-
In the bottom right corner, select the
Add Integration button. -
From the list, select Tailscale.
-
Follow the instructions on screen to complete the setup.
Supported functionality
Sensors
The integration provides sensors for monitoring your Tailscale network:
Device information sensors
- Device count: Total number of devices in your Tailnet
- Connected devices: Number of currently online devices
- Disconnected devices: Number of currently offline devices
Per-device sensors
For each device in your Tailnet:
- Connection status: Whether the device is online or offline
- Last seen: Timestamp when the device was last active
- Operating system: Device OS (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android)
- Tailscale version: Version of Tailscale client running
- IP addresses: Both Tailscale IP and external IP
- Location: Approximate geographic location (if available)
Binary sensors
The integration creates binary sensors for:
Network status
- Tailnet health: Overall network connectivity status
- Device reachability: Per-device online/offline status
Security monitoring
- Key expiration warnings: Alerts when auth keys are approaching expiration
- Unauthorized access: Notifications for new device connections (if configured)
Examples
Automated backups based on device availability
Start backups when specific devices are online:
Data updates
The Tailscale integration polls the Tailscale API every minute to check device status and network information.
Troubleshooting
Integration fails to connect
Symptom: “Unable to connect to Tailscale API” error
Solutions:
-
Verify API key:
- Ensure the key is copied correctly (no extra spaces)
- Check key hasn’t expired in the Tailscale admin panel
- Verify key has appropriate permissions
-
Network connectivity:
- Ensure Home Assistant can reach Tailscale’s API servers
- Check firewall rules if running in restricted environments
Removing the integration
This integration follows standard integration removal.
To remove an integration instance from Home Assistant
- Go to Settings > Devices & services and select the integration card.
- From the list of devices, select the integration instance you want to remove.
- Next to the entry, select the three dots
menu. Then, select Delete.
After removal:
- Your Tailscale API key remains active
- Consider revoking the key in the Tailscale admin panel if no longer needed
- Your Tailscale network and devices continue operating normally