headscale/docs/windows-client.md
nblock c3ef90a7f7
Update documentation for Apple (#2117)
* Rename docs/ios-client.md to docs/apple-client.md. Add instructions
  for macOS; those are copied from the /apple endpoint and slightly
  modified. Fix doc links in the README.
* Move infoboxes for /apple and /windows under the "Goal" section to the
  top. Those should be seen by users first as they contain *their*
  specific headscale URL.
* Swap order of macOS and iOS to move "Profiles" further down.
* Remove apple configuration profiles
* Remove Tailscale versions hints
* Mention /apple and /windows in the README along with their docs

See: #2096
2024-09-11 18:43:59 +02:00

2.1 KiB

Connecting a Windows client

Goal

This documentation has the goal of showing how a user can use the official Windows Tailscale client with headscale.

!!! info "Instructions on your headscale instance"

An endpoint with information on how to connect your Windows device
is also available at `/windows` on your running instance.

Installation

Download the Official Windows Client and install it.

Configuring the headscale URL

Open a Command Prompt or Powershell and use Tailscale's login command to connect with your headscale instance (e.g https://headscale.example.com):

tailscale login --login-server <YOUR_HEADSCALE_URL>

Follow the instructions in the opened browser window to finish the configuration.

Troubleshooting

Unattended mode

By default, Tailscale's Windows client is only running when the user is logged in. If you want to keep Tailscale running all the time, please enable "Unattended mode":

  • Click on the Tailscale tray icon and select Preferences
  • Enable Run unattended
  • Confirm the "Unattended mode" message

See also Keep Tailscale running when I'm not logged in to my computer

Failing node registration

If you are seeing repeated messages like:

[GIN] 2022/02/10 - 16:39:34 | 200 |    1.105306ms |       127.0.0.1 | POST     "/machine/redacted"

in your headscale output, turn on DEBUG logging and look for:

2022-02-11T00:59:29Z DBG Machine registration has expired. Sending a authurl to register machine=redacted

This typically means that the registry keys above was not set appropriately.

To reset and try again, it is important to do the following:

  1. Shut down the Tailscale service (or the client running in the tray)
  2. Delete Tailscale Application data folder, located at C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Tailscale and try to connect again.
  3. Ensure the Windows node is deleted from headscale (to ensure fresh setup)
  4. Start Tailscale on the Windows machine and retry the login.