{"data":{"slug":"tailcat","name":"Tailcat","tagline":"BSD-3 WireGuard+DERP netcat without Tailscale control plane","category":"devops","categoryName":"DevOps","url":"https://tailcat.dev","github":"https://github.com/tailscale/tailcat","pricing":"open-source","hook":"Tailcat is netcat over Tailscale's data plane — WireGuard + magicsock + DERP — with no Tailscale account or control plane.","whatsGood":"BSD-3-Clause. CLI and Go library. Userspace tunnels, SOCKS child mode, bring-your-own DERP. Out-of-band tokens instead of a tailnet.","theCatch":"CLI/API unstable — no stability promises. Public Tailscale DERP may be rate-limited or revoked; run your own derper for real bandwidth. Not Headscale control plane or full Tailscale VPN. Distinct from Headscale/Netbird.","verdict":"BSD-3 WireGuard netcat without Tailscale Inc coordination. Bring your own DERP.","addedAt":"2026-09-07","featured":false,"domain":"DevOps","subSpecialty":"Networking","subcategory":"Networking","tags":["self-host","permissive","active"],"capabilities":["wireguard","derp","netcat"],"surfaces":["Self-host"],"ecosystem":["Go","Multi-platform"],"licenseModel":"BSD-3-Clause","githubStars":8409,"starsPerWeek":82,"access":"free","archived":false,"repo":{"createdAt":"2024-10-29","pushedAt":"2026-10-07","license":"BSD-3-Clause","archived":false,"checkedAt":"2026-10-19"}},"related":[{"slug":"github-actions","name":"GitHub Actions","tagline":"CI/CD that lives where your code does"},{"slug":"docker","name":"Docker","tagline":"Container runtime that changed deployment"},{"slug":"kubernetes","name":"Kubernetes","tagline":"Container orchestration at scale"},{"slug":"pulumi","name":"Pulumi","tagline":"Infrastructure as code in real languages"},{"slug":"fly-io","name":"Fly.io","tagline":"Deploy apps to VMs close to your users"}],"links":{"self":"/api/gems/tailcat","html":"/gems/tailcat","markdown":"/gems/tailcat.md","category":"/api/gems?category=devops","categoryPage":"/stacks/devops"}}