Deploy and Host Tailscale on Railway

Tailscale is a secure mesh VPN that makes private networking simple. It lets you connect apps, servers, internal tools, and private services without exposing everything directly to the public internet. This template helps you deploy a self-hosted Tailscale node quickly with private network access support.

About Hosting Tailscale

Hosting Tailscale allows you to create a secure private access layer for your infrastructure. Instead of relying only on public URLs, open ports, or complex VPN setup, Tailscale gives you encrypted connectivity between trusted devices and services.

This template is designed for users who want a simple Tailscale deployment that can be used as part of a private network setup. It is useful for accessing internal tools, connecting remote environments, or preparing an exit node for routing traffic through your Tailscale network.

Before deploying, you only need to provide your Tailscale auth key.

Common Use Cases

Private access to internal apps and services
Secure remote access to servers and admin tools
Creating a Tailscale node for private networking
Using Tailscale as part of a self-hosted infrastructure stack
Preparing an exit node for routing traffic through your Tailnet

Required Setup

Before clicking deploy, generate a Tailscale auth key from your Tailscale admin console:

https://login.tailscale.com/admin/settings/keys

Use the generated key as:

TAILSCALE_AUTHKEY

Once the deployment is running, the service will authenticate into your Tailscale network using this key.

Exit Node Approval

If this deployment is configured with --advertise-exit-node, you need to approve the exit node manually from the Tailscale admin console.

Go to:

Machines → … → Edit route settings

Then approve the advertised exit node.

After approval, the node can be used as an exit node inside your Tailscale network.

Dependencies for Tailscale Hosting

A Tailscale account
A generated Tailscale auth key
Access to the Tailscale admin console
A deployed Tailscale node

Deployment Dependencies

Tailscale Auth Keys: https://login.tailscale.com/admin/settings/keys
Tailscale Admin Console: https://login.tailscale.com/admin/machines

Why Deploy Tailscale 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 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.