How to Install Headscale on Debian Latest

Headscale is a self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control plane. In this tutorial, we'll learn how to install Headscale on Debian latest.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure that you have the following:

  • A server running Debian latest
  • A sudo user
  • Basic knowledge of the Linux command line

Step 1: Install dependencies

First, we need to install some dependencies required by Headscale. Open the terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y curl git gnupg2 net-tools

This command will update the package list and install the necessary dependencies.

Step 2: Install Go

Next, we need to install Go programming language. Go is required to build and run Headscale.

Run the following commands to install Go:

wget https://golang.org/dl/go1.16.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xzf go1.16.3.linux-amd64.tar.gz

This command will download the Go binary file and extract it to /usr/local.

Step 3: Clone Headscale

We need to clone the Headscale repository from GitHub. Run the following command to clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/juanfont/headscale.git

This command will clone the Headscale repository to the current directory.

Step 4: Build Headscale

Now we need to build Headscale using the Go compiler. Run the following commands to build Headscale:

cd headscale
go build ./cmd/headscale

This command will compile the Headscale binary.

Step 5: Configure Headscale

Headscale requires a configuration file named config.yaml to run. We need to create the config.yaml file and specify the required configuration parameters.

Run the following command to create a config.yaml file:

cp config.yaml.sample config.yaml

Now, open the config.yaml file in a text editor and modify the following parameters:

  • publichost: The public hostname or IP address of your server.
  • db: The database settings. You can use the default settings for this tutorial.
  • auth: The authentication method. You can use the default settings for this tutorial.

Step 6: Run Headscale

Now we can start the Headscale server. Run the following command to start the Headscale server:

./headscale serve

Headscale should start up and listen on port 3478.

Step 7: Verify Headscale

To verify that Headscale is working correctly, open a web browser and navigate to the URL http://<publichost>:3478/ (replace <publichost> with the public hostname or IP address of your server). You should see a Headscale login page.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed and configured Headscale on Debian latest.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we have learned how to install and configure Headscale on Debian latest. Headscale provides a self-hosted implementation of the Tailscale control plane, allowing you to securely connect your devices to a private network.