Deploy and Host Tailscale Exit Node on Railway

A Tailscale Exit Node allows you to route all your internet traffic through a designated machine in your tailnet. It gives you a secure, private egress IP without relying on commercial VPN providers.

About Hosting Tailscale Exit Node

This template deploys the official Tailscale Docker image on Railway configured as an exit node. It joins your Tailscale network using an auth key, advertises itself as an exit node, and persists its state using a Railway volume.

Once deployed, you simply approve the machine in the Tailscale admin console and enable it as an exit node. Railway handles the underlying infrastructure, keeping your node always-on with minimal maintenance.

Common Use Cases

• Secure remote access: Route traffic from your devices through a trusted exit node when on public or untrusted Wi-Fi
• Fixed egress IP: Give scripts, services, or automation a consistent, allowlisted IP address
• Privacy & geo-unblocking: Access region-locked content or bypass restrictive networks using your own exit node
• Team / Family VPN replacement: Provide secure internet access for your team or household without third-party services

Dependencies for Tailscale Exit Node Hosting

• A Tailscale account (free tier works great)

Deployment Dependencies

• Tailscale Docker Image
• Tailscale Admin Console — for generating auth keys and approving the exit node

Implementation Details

Key Variables:

• TS_AUTHKEY — Your Tailscale auth key
• TS_EXTRA_ARGS — --advertise-exit-node
• TS_STATE_DIR — /var/lib/tailscale (with mounted volume)

After deployment, enable the exit node in the Tailscale admin console under the machine’s route settings.

Why Deploy Tailscale Exit Node on Railway?

Railway is a singular platform to deploy your infrastructure stack. Railway will host your infrastructure so you don't have to deal with configuration, while allowing you to vertically and horizontally scale it.

By deploying Tailscale Exit Node on Railway, you are one step closer to supporting a complete full-stack application with minimal burden. Host your servers, databases, AI agents, and more on Railway.