tailscale

name

tailscale

description

tailscale-rmcp 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 tailscale-rmcp 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.

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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:

1. confirm=True in the call
2. 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)

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

Binary: /home/jmagar/workspace/tailscale-rmcp/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"


curl  \
  -H 


curl -X POST  \
  -H  \
  -H  \
  -d 


curl -X DELETE  \
  -H 

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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).