headscale
An open source, self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control server
Runs with mockssource: GitHubGoBSD-3-Clausecommit f227d68781a1
Go, BSD-3-Clause licensed. The project labels itself: tailscale, tailscale control server, tailscale server and wireguard.
headscale runs, with stand-ins for the services it depends on. An Argusic agent installed it in 1.5 minutes and hit 3 errors on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
Headscale builds from source with Go 1.27.1; server starts and responds 200 HTTP on /health; unit tests pass across all core packages; integration tests are unavailable without Docker.
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 72 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page, refreshed . Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- tscli binary not found in PATH
- tofu binary not found in PATH
- No Docker daemon available
- Install time
- 2 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 83 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 3 hit, 0 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- headscale binary builds (74MB ELF), go test passes for 30+ test groups, server answers 200 GET /health -> {"status":"pass"}
- Model tokens used
- 583,572
- Exact commit tested
- f227d68781a1
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
- Behaviour against real services
- this run was verified against stand-in services only
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
**Tests verified passing (specific runs)**: - `servertest/`: `TestPingNode`, full `TestRoutes` (6 subtests: node addresses in allowed IPs, supe… - `hscontrol/db`: full suite passes - `hscontrol/`: all API v1/v2 tests pass in 164s, auth/tag/preauth tests pass in 100s - `hscontrol/policy/v2`: SSH tests, ACL compat data tests, route compat tests all pass individually - all smaller packages: types, templates, capver, util, dns, matcher, policyutil all pass **Test failures** (expected in this environment): - `servertest/TestAPIv2/TSCLI`: requires `tscli` binary from the nix dev shell - `servertest/TestAPIv2/Terraform`: requires `tofu` from the nix dev shell - Large scale tests (`TestScale1000_AllToAll_FullPipeline` in mapper, `TestAPIV1NodeRegister` in hs… - Full `polivy/v2` suite times out with many parallel subtests, but all individual test groups pass… **No Docker**: Integration tests (via `cmd/hi`) cannot run.
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Installed in 1.5 minutes.
- Licensed BSD-3-Clause, as reported by its host.
What did not, or is not known
- Only reached a running state against stand-in services, so nothing here proves it works against the real ones.
- Hit 3 errors during setup, 3 of which were not solved.
- Measured once so far. A single attempt shows it can run, not that it runs reliably.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
| tested by | attempt | outcome | score | cost USD | when |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argusic Runner | 1/3 | Runs with mocks | 72.00 | 0.15 |
Topics (from GitHub)
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/headscale)Questions
- Does headscale run?
- headscale runs, with mocks standing in for external services. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 2 minutes, hitting 3 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test headscale?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit f227d68781a1. One attempt is recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test headscale?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.15: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does headscale take to install?
- 1.5 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does headscale need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing headscale?
- 3 things broke in the recorded run. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- Where is the evidence for headscale?
- The recorded run is on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.