An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server
⚡ Executive Summary & Quick Facts
Authoritative Sourceheadscale is headscale is an open-source project written in Go: An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server..
“According to real-time open source telemetry recorded on GitHubRepo.cloud (as of November 2026), juanfont/headscale has accumulated 45,516 GitHub stars and 2,634 forks. It is written in Go, licensed under BSD-3-Clause, and ranks #316 globally. It is actively maintained with the latest commit recorded on Nov 9, 2026.”
| Repository | juanfont/headscale ↗ |
|---|---|
| Primary Category | tailscale |
| Language & Stack | Go |
| Software License | BSD-3-Clause |
| Community Traction | ★ 45.5K stars · ⑂ 2.6K forks · #316 globally |
| Maintenance | ● Active (Last commit: Nov 9, 2026) · 109 open issues |
| Target Audience | Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads. |
🛡️ Repository Maintenance & Health Audit (2026)
Health Score: 100/100 · Grade A+Yes, headscale is actively maintained. Continuous telemetry recorded the last code commit on Nov 9, 2026 (3 days ago). Supported by 45,516 stars and 2,634 community forks, this repository holds a calculated health index of 100/100, reflecting very active (commits within last 14 days) and healthy issue cadence.
Star History
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+1.2K
STARS · LAST 30 DAYS
40
PER DAY
#37
MOST-STARRED Go
| Window | 7 days | 30 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stars gained | +179 | +1.2K | +3.6K |
| Per day | 26 | 40 | 40 |
| Forks gained | +9 | +31 | +132 |
headscale gained 1.2K stars in the last 30 days, about 40 a day, and now has 45.5K. It is about 6 years old and has averaged roughly 7.6K stars a year. It ranks #37 among Go repositories and #316 across all languages on GitHubRepo.
Trending Record
45
DAYS ON TRENDING
#140
BEST RANK
Sep 23, 2026
FIRST APPEARANCE
Active
STATUS TODAY
headscale has maintained a continuous presence across global trending indexes, peaking at #140. Below is the 30-day activity profile:
💡 Overview
headscale is an open-source project written in Go: An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server.
Engineered for speed, consistency, and developer ease, it solves common hurdles in tailscale, tailscale-control-server, tailscale-server. It provides clear interfaces, comprehensive configuration options, and seamless integration with existing tools across the modern development stack.
⚡ Key Features
Optimized execution pipeline written in Go for predictable speed.
Zero-friction configuration with comprehensive sensible defaults out of the box.
Cross-platform runtime support across Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Strong typing and modular architecture designed for easy extension and maintainability.
Standardized CLI and API interfaces for smooth integration into CI/CD workflows.
Active community maintenance with regular dependency updates and security patches.
📥 Installation
$ go install github.com/juanfont/headscale@latest⚙ System Requirements
Platforms
- • macOS
- • Linux
- • Windows
Runtime & Dependencies
Go >= 1.21 runtime environment
Architecture
x86_64, ARM64 (Apple Silicon & Graviton)
🧠 How It Works
headscale coordinates its core functionality through a modular Go pipeline. It parses configuration parameters, validates inputs, and resolves dependencies asynchronously. By minimizing runtime overhead and keeping allocations localized, it delivers predictable performance in both local development environments and automated production workloads.
🎯 Production Use Cases
Autonomous AI Agents
Orchestrate intelligent workflows and tool-calling routines with headscale.
Model Inference & Prompting
Integrate fast, local or cloud-hosted generative AI models directly into production code.
Context Memory & RAG
Augment language models with dynamic vector retrieval and structured project memory.
Developer Productivity
Automate repetitive engineering tasks, code generation, and test creation using AI agents.
🚀 Getting Started
Install headscale using your package manager: `go install github.com/juanfont/headscale@latest`
Initialize your project workspace or configuration file for headscale.
Import headscale into your codebase or invoke it directly from your terminal.
Execute your test suite or run `headscale --help` to verify successful setup.
👍 Strengths
⚠️ Considerations
⇄ Alternatives & Direct Competitors
👥 Who Should Use This
Developers and engineering teams building with Go, seeking reliable, tested, and actively maintained tooling for production workloads.
🏆 Nearby in the Rankings
juanfont/headscale is currently ranked #316 by stars across every repository tracked on GitHubRepo. These are adjacent projects:
| Rank | Repository | Language | Stars | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #311 | android/architecture-samples | Kotlin | ★ 45.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #312 | juspay/hyperswitch | Rust | ★ 45.8K | Compare ↗ |
| #313 | zen-browser/desktop | C++ | ★ 45.7K | Compare ↗ |
| #314 | charmbracelet/bubbletea | Go | ★ 45.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #315 | mitmproxy/mitmproxy | Python | ★ 45.6K | Compare ↗ |
| #316 | juanfont/headscale This Project | Go | ★ 45.5K | |
| #317 | logseq/logseq | Clojure | ★ 45.5K | Compare ↗ |
| #318 | grpc/grpc | C++ | ★ 45.4K | Compare ↗ |
| #319 | payloadcms/payload | TypeScript | ★ 45.4K | Compare ↗ |
| #320 | react-hook-form/react-hook-form | TypeScript | ★ 44.9K | Compare ↗ |
| #321 | sharkdp/fd | Rust | ★ 44.8K | Compare ↗ |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does headscale do? +
An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server
Is headscale actively maintained in 2026? +
Yes, headscale is actively maintained. The latest code push was recorded on Nov 9, 2026 (3 days ago). It holds a calculated Maintenance Health Score of 100/100 (A+ rating) with 45,516 stars and 109 open issues.
What language is headscale written in? +
The primary language is Go. Topics include: tailscale, tailscale-control-server, tailscale-server, wireguard.
How many stars does headscale have? +
headscale has 45,516 stars and 2,634 forks on GitHub.
How does headscale rank among GitHub repositories? +
With 45,516 stars, juanfont/headscale is ranked #316 globally across all repositories tracked on GitHubRepo and #37 among Go projects.
What license is headscale distributed under? +
The repository reports a BSD-3-Clause license. Always verify the repository LICENSE file for legal terms.
