tailscale

name: tailscale description: > rustscale MCP server — query and manage your Tailscale network from Claude. Use this skill whenever the user mentions Tailscale devices, tailnet status, VPN nodes, MagicDNS, Tailscale ACL, access control policy, subnet routes, tailnet members, API keys, or wants to authorize or delete a device. Trigger phrases include: "list my Tailscale devices", "show tailnet status", "what's on my tailnet", "check my VPN devices", "Tailscale ACL", "MagicDNS", "Tailscale DNS", "tailnet users", "authorize this device", "delete device from Tailscale", "device routes", "subnet routes", "Tailscale API keys", "tailscale network". Always use this skill — do not try to query Tailscale without it.

Tailscale Skill

Bridge to the Tailscale REST API (https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2) via the rustscale MCP server. Exposes a single tailscale MCP tool with action dispatch. Use the three tiers below in order: MCP first, CLI second, raw REST only as a last resort.

Tier 1 — MCP Tool (always try this first)

Tool: tailscale
Required parameter: action (string)

Read actions

These require only action; no id needed.

Action	What it returns
`devices`	All devices in the tailnet — `nodeId`, `hostname`, `addresses` (IPs), `os`, `user`, `lastSeen`, `authorized`, `online`
`keys`	API keys — `id`, `expires`, `capabilities`, `description`
`acl`	ACL policy as parsed JSON — `acls`, `groups`, `tagOwners`, `hosts`, etc.
`dns`	Aggregated DNS info — `nameservers`, `searchpaths`, `preferences` (MagicDNS status)
`users`	Tailnet members — `loginName`, `displayName`, `role`, `status`
`help`	Full built-in documentation

Read actions requiring `id`

Pass the device's stable node ID (starts with n) or legacy numeric ID.

Action	`id`	What it returns
`device`	required	Single device — same fields as `devices` plus `clientVersion`, `updateAvailable`, `blocksIncomingConnections`, `enabledRoutes`, `advertisedRoutes`
`device_routes`	required	Subnet routes — `advertisedRoutes` and `enabledRoutes` arrays

Write action (non-destructive)

Action	`id`	Effect
`authorize_device`	required	Approves the device so it can join the tailnet; returns `{"ok": true}`

Destructive action — two-key interlock

delete_device permanently removes a device. It requires both:

confirm=True in the call
TAILSCALE_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE=true on the server

If either is missing the server returns a clear error — no device is touched.

tailscale(action="delete_device", id="nXXXXXXXXXXXXX", confirm=True)
# → {"ok": true, "device_id": "nXXX...", "action": "deleted"}

Quick-reference examples

# List all devices
tailscale(action="devices")

# Inspect a single device
tailscale(action="device", id="nXXXXXXXXXXXXX")

# Check subnet routes
tailscale(action="device_routes", id="nXXXXXXXXXXXXX")

# List API keys
tailscale(action="keys")

# Read the ACL policy
tailscale(action="acl")

# DNS nameservers + search paths + MagicDNS in one call
tailscale(action="dns")

# Tailnet members
tailscale(action="users")

# Approve a pending device
tailscale(action="authorize_device", id="nXXXXXXXXXXXXX")

# Remove a device (both guards must be satisfied)
tailscale(action="delete_device", id="nXXXXXXXXXXXXX", confirm=True)

Tier 2 — CLI Binary (fall back when MCP is unavailable)

Binary: /home/jmagar/workspace/rustscale/target/release/rtailscale
All commands accept --json / -j for machine-readable JSON output.

rtailscale devices
rtailscale device <id>
rtailscale routes <id>
rtailscale keys
rtailscale acl
rtailscale dns
rtailscale users
rtailscale authorize <id>
rtailscale delete-device <id> --confirm

Tier 3 — Direct Tailscale REST API (last resort)

Base URL: https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2
Auth: Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY
Tailnet: $TAILSCALE_TAILNET (use - for personal accounts, or your org domain e.g. example.com)

# List all devices
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/tailnet/$TAILSCALE_TAILNET/devices" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# Single device
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/device/$DEVICE_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# Device subnet routes
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/device/$DEVICE_ID/routes" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# ACL policy — must request JSON to avoid HuJSON format
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/tailnet/$TAILSCALE_TAILNET/acl" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Accept: application/json"

# DNS nameservers
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/tailnet/$TAILSCALE_TAILNET/dns/nameservers" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# DNS search paths
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/tailnet/$TAILSCALE_TAILNET/dns/searchpaths" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# DNS preferences (MagicDNS on/off, etc.)
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/tailnet/$TAILSCALE_TAILNET/dns/preferences" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# Tailnet users
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/tailnet/$TAILSCALE_TAILNET/users" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# API keys
curl "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/tailnet/$TAILSCALE_TAILNET/keys" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

# Authorize a device (write)
curl -X POST "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/device/$DEVICE_ID/authorized" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"authorized":true}'

# Delete a device (irreversible — confirm with the user first)
curl -X DELETE "https://api.tailscale.com/api/v2/device/$DEVICE_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TAILSCALE_API_KEY"

Key facts to keep in mind

Device IDs: stable node IDs start with n (e.g. nXXXXXXXXXXXXX). Legacy numeric IDs are also accepted everywhere id is required.
Tailnet -: the hyphen is a valid tailnet value meaning "personal account". The server resolves it from TAILSCALE_TAILNET.
dns aggregates three REST endpoints (nameservers, searchpaths, preferences) into one MCP call — no need to call them separately.
ACL uses Accept: application/json because the raw API returns HuJSON (a JSON superset with comments). The MCP server sets this header automatically; you only need it when falling back to raw curl.
Destructive gate — both keys required: the server checks TAILSCALE_ALLOW_DESTRUCTIVE=true AND confirm=true independently. An error from either means the device was not deleted.
All other actions are read-only except authorize_device (write) and delete_device (destructive).