Tailcat is an open-source tool that uses Tailscale's WireGuard-based networking layer (magicsock) to create point-to-point encrypted connections between machines without requiring a Tailscale account or control plane. You share a short address out-of-band, and the tool handles NAT traversal and relay through DERP servers.

• No account, no root access, no routing table changes needed — it's purely a userspace library and CLI that works on Linux, macOS, Windows, and BSD with multiple installation methods
• Supports practical use cases: port forwarding, SSH servers (with GitHub key auth), file transfer, SOCKS proxies, exit nodes, and command execution over encrypted tunnels
• All connection metadata is exchanged outside the tool (you decide how), and traffic is encrypted end-to-end; free DERP relays are available by default, or you can run your own