First, make sure Tailscale is installed, signed in, and shows Connected on the target Mac or server. Embedded Tailscale replaces only the phone-side connection; the target machine must remain online in the Tailnet.
Redock connects directly through its built-in Tailscale node, so the mobile Tailscale app can stay off. If another VPN or proxy causes registration or startup to time out, temporarily disable it and retry.
Setup
- Confirm Tailscale shows Connected on the target machine and its standard SSH service is running.
- Open the Tailscale Keys page and generate an Auth Key. Use a one-off key and leave Ephemeral disabled.
- Enter the target device's Tailscale IP or MagicDNS name in the Host.
- Enable “Use Embedded Tailscale” in Advanced Settings and register with the Auth Key.
After registration, other Hosts on this device can reuse it.
When to Use This Setup
- You want to avoid occupying the phone's system VPN slot.
- You do not want to switch the mobile Tailscale app on and off.
- The target machine can stay connected to Tailscale.
How the Auth Key Is Stored
- The Auth Key is passed to Tailscale only during registration. Redock does not save or sync it.
- The resulting node identity is kept in protected local app data and shared by all embedded Tailscale Hosts.
- Reinstalling the app or clearing its data requires a new Auth Key.