Home Assistant running on your local network is great — but you also want to check your cameras, unlock the door, or trigger an automation when you are away from home. Tailscale gives you secure, private remote access without port forwarding, dynamic DNS, or a Nabu Casa subscription.
What Is Tailscale?
Tailscale is a VPN service that creates a private, encrypted network between your devices. Unlike traditional VPNs, it uses WireGuard under the hood and implements a mesh topology — your phone connects directly to your Home Assistant hub, not through a central server. The free tier allows up to 100 devices, which is far more than any home setup needs.
Step 1: Install Tailscale on Home Assistant
- In Home Assistant, go to Settings → Add-ons → Add-on Store
- Search for “Tailscale” and install the Tailscale add-on
- Start the add-on and open the Web UI
- Follow the login link to authenticate with your Tailscale account (create one at tailscale.com — free)
- Your Home Assistant host will appear in your Tailscale network with an IP address like
100.x.x.x
Step 2: Install Tailscale on Your Phone
Download Tailscale from the App Store or Google Play. Log in with the same Tailscale account. Your phone is now on the same private network as Home Assistant.
Step 3: Connect from Anywhere
In the Home Assistant Companion app on your phone, add your Tailscale IP as an external URL. Go to Home Assistant app → Settings → Companion App → Home Assistant URL, and set External URL to http://100.x.x.x:8123. Now when you are away from home and Tailscale is running on your phone, the app connects to Home Assistant via the encrypted Tailscale tunnel.
Step 4: Enable Tailscale Magic DNS
Enable Tailscale MagicDNS in the Tailscale admin console. This gives your Home Assistant host a hostname like homeassistant.tailnet-name.ts.net that you can use instead of the IP address. Enable HTTPS in the Tailscale add-on settings for a valid SSL certificate on this domain.
Tailscale vs Nabu Casa
Tailscale (Free): Remote access, free for up to 100 devices, device-to-device routing, no Google/Alexa integration, no public webhooks.
Nabu Casa ($6.50/month): Remote access, simpler setup, Google/Alexa integration, webhooks, traffic through Nabu Casa servers.
Nabu Casa is still worth considering if you want Google Home or Alexa integration, as those require a publicly accessible URL that Tailscale does not provide. For pure remote access, Tailscale is superior and free.
Using Tailscale for Frigate Camera Access
With Tailscale running, you can access Frigate web interface from anywhere: http://100.x.x.x:5000. View live camera feeds and recorded clips from your phone without any of your video data passing through external servers.