Connect your device
Create a single-use key in the panel, connect your computer to a nixscale network with one command, and check the connection.
To connect a device, you create a single-use key in the panel and run a command containing that key on the device. You don't need to sign in through a browser on the device.
Before you start
Create a key
Open the network
In the panel, under Your organizations, click the name of the network you're joining. From the network page's menu, go to Devices.
Open the add-device form
Click Add device. Leave Device type set to Personal computer — that's the type for your own computer. Only network admins can choose Machine / server (an organization's owner and admins are implicit admins on every network).
Create the key
Click Create key. The panel shows the connection command in the Connect your device box. The key is masked so it doesn't leak during screen sharing; Copy command copies the full command.
Run the command
The command you copied looks like this. The highlighted parts differ for your network and your key:
tailscale up --login-server=https://k7mp.hs.nixscale.com --authkey=<key>| Part | Meaning |
|---|---|
--login-server | Your network's control server. Every network has its own 4-character address, shown under the network name in the panel. |
--authkey | The single-use key you just created. |
Paste the command into Terminal (⌘ + V) and press Enter. You don't need sudo on macOS.
Paste the command into PowerShell (Ctrl + V) and press Enter. If you get a permissions error, open PowerShell as administrator and run the command again.
On Linux, put sudo in front of the command:
sudo tailscale up --login-server=https://k7mp.hs.nixscale.com --authkey=<key>If the command finishes within a few seconds without an error, the device is connected.
Check the connection
Refresh the list in the panel
The device list doesn't refresh on its own. Click Refresh; your device appears in the list as Online.
Check the status on the device
Terminal tailscale status tailscale ip -4tailscale statuslists your device and its nixscale address, which starts with100..tailscale ip -4prints just that address.
If the device is already on another network
A Tailscale client is connected to one network at a time. To add the new network without losing your current connection (another nixscale network or a Tailscale account), use login instead of up in the command. This creates a separate profile:
tailscale login --login-server=https://k7mp.hs.nixscale.com --authkey=<key>List your profiles and switch between them:
tailscale switch --list
tailscale switch profile-nameOn Linux, put sudo in front of these commands too.
Troubleshooting
The tailscale command isn't found
- macOS: The command-line tool isn't enabled. Follow the "Enable the command-line tool" step on the install page.
- Windows: A PowerShell window opened before the installation doesn't know the new command; close it and open a new one.
The key isn't accepted
The key works once and is valid for 24 hours. If you already ran the command or the key expired, create a new key in the panel and copy the command again.
"requires mentioning all non-default flags" error
If the device was connected before with different settings, tailscale up shows this error. Add --reset to the command to clear the previous settings:
tailscale up --reset --login-server=https://k7mp.hs.nixscale.com --authkey=<key>Permission error on Linux
You may have forgotten to put sudo in front of the command.
The device doesn't show up in the panel
Click Refresh first. If it still isn't there, run tailscale status on the device: if it prints "Logged out.", the connection command didn't complete — try again with a new key.