Install headscale-cli with Homebrew, apk, dnf, Nix, pacman, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• headscale

Project history

Headscale's repository was created in June 2020, after Tailscale popularized WireGuard-based private overlay networks with a proprietary coordination server. The upstream README states the design goal plainly: implement a self-hosted, open source alternative to the Tailscale control server for self-hosters, hobbyists, personal networks, and small open source organizations.

The CLI is part of the same Go codebase as the server. It manages users, nodes, pre-auth keys, routes, DNS, policies, API keys, and other control-plane state. The remote CLI path became important when operators wanted to administer a server from another machine rather than SSHing into the host.

Headscale 0.13.0 added API key support and remote control of headscale via CLI. The remote CLI documentation requires a server version of 0.13.0 or newer, TLS, an API key, and environment variables for the CLI address and key.

Adoption history

Headscale adoption is tied to the self-hosted networking community and to users who like Tailscale clients but want to operate their own control plane. The repository's popularity and package spread across Homebrew, Nix, Alpine, Fedora, Arch, and openSUSE ecosystems show that it became a standard item in self-hosting package sets.

The separate Homebrew headscale-cli packaging reflects a practical operator split: servers run on Linux or containers, while administrative workstations may be macOS laptops that only need the client binary.

How it is used

Local usage starts with built-in help and server-side actions such as creating users, registering nodes, and generating pre-auth keys. Remote usage creates an API key on the server, installs the same-version headscale binary on the workstation, sets HEADSCALE_CLI_ADDRESS and HEADSCALE_CLI_API_KEY, and then runs commands such as `headscale nodes list` against the remote instance.

The CLI is also part of automated Headscale operations: scripts can create users, manage registration keys, list or expire nodes, and inspect routes without touching the database directly.

Why package nerds care

headscale-cli is a package-nerd favorite because it separates admin tooling from daemon deployment. The Homebrew package lets a macOS or Linux workstation manage a Headscale server while the server itself might be installed from a distro package, container image, NixOS module, or source build.

It is also a good example of packaging around a monorepo executable: the upstream project ships one binary, while package managers can expose a CLI-only formula to avoid pulling users into a server service lifecycle they did not ask for.

Timeline

• 2020-06: Headscale repository created.
• 2022-02: 0.13.0 added API key support and remote CLI control.
• 2022-02: Remote CLI documentation described same-version client and server requirements.
• 2023-02: Headscale was presented at FOSDEM as an integration-testing driven reimplementation of Tailscale.
• 2026-02: 0.28.0 continued compatibility work around tags, API shape, and Tailscale semantics.
• 2026-06: 0.29.0 documented further Tailscale ACL compatibility improvements.

Related projects

• Tailscale is the upstream client ecosystem and proprietary hosted control server that Headscale reimplements for self-hosting.
• WireGuard is the encrypted tunnel technology used by Tailscale clients.
• DERP, MagicDNS, ACLs, routes, and OIDC are related Tailscale/Headscale control-plane concepts managed through Headscale.
• NixOS modules, container images, and Linux distro packages are common deployment companions for the server while headscale-cli is used from an admin workstation.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/juanfont/headscale
• https://api.github.com/repos/juanfont/headscale/releases?per_page=100
• https://docs.headscale.org/ref/remote-cli/
• https://docs.headscale.org/usage/getting-started/
• https://github.com/juanfont/headscale
• https://headscale.net/stable/about/features/
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/juanfont/headscale/main/CHANGELOG.md
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/juanfont/headscale/main/README.md