tailscale unusable due to missing systemd service

[K0-RR]

brew gist-logs <formula> link OR brew config AND brew doctor output

brew gist-logs tailscale                                                                                                                                                                                  
Error: No logs.

Verification

• My brew doctor output says Your system is ready to brew. and am still able to reproduce my issue.
• I ran brew update and am still able to reproduce my issue.
• I have resolved all warnings from brew doctor and that did not fix my problem.
• I searched for recent similar issues at https://github.com/Homebrew/homebrew-core/issues?q=is%3Aissue and found no duplicates.

What were you trying to do (and why)?

tailscale up

What happened (include all command output)?

failed to connect to local tailscaled; it doesn't appear to be running (sudo systemctl start tailscaled ?)

What did you expect to happen?

success

Step-by-step reproduction instructions (by running brew commands)

brew install tailscale and try to run it

[carlocab]

Have you read and followed the Caveats displayed upon installing tailscale? You can see them again with brew info tailscale.

❯ brew info tailscale
[snip]
==> Caveats
To start tailscale now and restart at login:
  brew services start tailscale
Or, if you don't want/need a background service you can just run:
  /opt/homebrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled

[K0-RR]

Thank you for the info command! I missed that message somehow. However:

$ brew services start tailscale                               
==> Successfully started `tailscale` (label: homebrew.tailscale)
$ tailscale up                                                
failed to connect to local tailscaled; it doesn't appear to be running (sudo systemctl start tailscaled ?)

And for the one-time run:
(without sudo it complained "Permission denied")

$ sudo /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled
[sudo] hasło użytkownika radek:         
logtail started
Program starting: v1.80.3-tbd762b827, Go 1.24.0: []string{"/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled"}
LogID: b7bb288ccbce59844db88ecac5a0677bbf296a2ac455973a50c50587def3a65e
logpolicy: using system state directory "/var/lib/tailscale"
logpolicy.ConfigFromFile /var/lib/tailscale/tailscaled.log.conf: open /var/lib/tailscale/tailscaled.log.conf: no such file or directory
logpolicy.Config.Validate for /var/lib/tailscale/tailscaled.log.conf: config is nil
dns: [resolved-ping=yes rc=resolved resolved=nss nm=yes nm-resolved=yes nm-safe=no resolv-conf-mode=stub ret=systemd-resolved]
dns: using "systemd-resolved" mode
creating dns cleanup: route ip+net: no such network interface
wgengine.NewUserspaceEngine(tun "tailscale0") ...
dns: [resolved-ping=yes rc=resolved resolved=nss nm=yes nm-resolved=yes nm-safe=no resolv-conf-mode=stub ret=systemd-resolved]
dns: using "systemd-resolved" mode
dns: using *dns.resolvedManager
link state: interfaces.State{defaultRoute=enxc0470e70e312 ifs={enxc0470e70e312:[10.16.3.32/24 10.16.3.52/24 llu6] tun0:[172.22.0.173/22 llu6] virbr0:[192.168.122.1/24]} v4=true v6=false}
onPortUpdate(port=44850, network=udp6)
router: using firewall mode pref 
router: default choosing iptables
router: netfilter running in iptables mode v6 = true, v6filter = true, v6nat = true
onPortUpdate(port=34308, network=udp4)
magicsock: disco key = d:3a0c97b660c022e1
Creating WireGuard device...
Bringing WireGuard device up...
external route: up
Bringing router up...
Clearing router settings...
Starting network monitor...
Engine created.
pm: migrating "_daemon" profile to new format
logpolicy: using system state directory "/var/lib/tailscale"
got LocalBackend in 39ms
Start
monitor: [unexpected] network state changed, but stringification didn't: interfaces.State{defaultRoute=enxc0470e70e312 ifs={enxc0470e70e312:[10.16.3.32/24 10.16.3.52/24 llu6] tun0:[172.22.0.173/22 llu6] virbr0:[192.168.122.1/24]} v4=true v6=false}
monitor: [unexpected] old: {"InterfaceIPs":{"enp0s31f6":null,"enxc0470e70e312":["10.16.3.32/24","10.16.3.52/24","fe80::ef9b:5900:d740:c9ea/64"],"lo":["127.0.0.1/8","::1/128"],"tun0":["172.22.0.173/22","fe80::b5a0:aeea:9756:18bd/64"],"virbr0":["192.168.122.1/24"],"wlp0s20f3":null},"Interface":{"enp0s31f6":{"Index":2,"MTU":1500,"Name":"enp0s31f6","HardwareAddr":"wEcOIfKY","Flags":19,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"enxc0470e70e312":{"Index":15,"MTU":1500,"Name":"enxc0470e70e312","HardwareAddr":"wEcOIfKY","Flags":51,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"lo":{"Index":1,"MTU":65536,"Name":"lo","HardwareAddr":null,"Flags":37,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"tun0":{"Index":22,"MTU":1500,"Name":"tun0","HardwareAddr":null,"Flags":57,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"virbr0":{"Index":4,"MTU":1500,"Name":"virbr0","HardwareAddr":"UlQAEYnJ","Flags":19,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"wlp0s20f3":{"Index":3,"MTU":1500,"Name":"wlp0s20f3","HardwareAddr":"lLYJEshD","Flags":19,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""}},"HaveV6":false,"HaveV4":true,"IsExpensive":false,"DefaultRouteInterface":"enxc0470e70e312","HTTPProxy":"","PAC":""}
monitor: [unexpected] new: {"InterfaceIPs":{"enp0s31f6":null,"enxc0470e70e312":["10.16.3.32/24","10.16.3.52/24","fe80::ef9b:5900:d740:c9ea/64"],"lo":["127.0.0.1/8","::1/128"],"tailscale0":["fe80::6b31:565c:9fb3:acfb/64"],"tun0":["172.22.0.173/22","fe80::b5a0:aeea:9756:18bd/64"],"virbr0":["192.168.122.1/24"],"wlp0s20f3":null},"Interface":{"enp0s31f6":{"Index":2,"MTU":1500,"Name":"enp0s31f6","HardwareAddr":"wEcOIfKY","Flags":19,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"enxc0470e70e312":{"Index":15,"MTU":1500,"Name":"enxc0470e70e312","HardwareAddr":"wEcOIfKY","Flags":51,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"lo":{"Index":1,"MTU":65536,"Name":"lo","HardwareAddr":null,"Flags":37,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"tailscale0":{"Index":23,"MTU":1280,"Name":"tailscale0","HardwareAddr":null,"Flags":57,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"tun0":{"Index":22,"MTU":1500,"Name":"tun0","HardwareAddr":null,"Flags":57,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"virbr0":{"Index":4,"MTU":1500,"Name":"virbr0","HardwareAddr":"UlQAEYnJ","Flags":19,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""},"wlp0s20f3":{"Index":3,"MTU":1500,"Name":"wlp0s20f3","HardwareAddr":"lLYJEshD","Flags":19,"AltAddrs":null,"Desc":""}},"HaveV6":false,"HaveV4":true,"IsExpensive":false,"DefaultRouteInterface":"enxc0470e70e312","HTTPProxy":"","PAC":""}
LinkChange: major, rebinding. New state: interfaces.State{defaultRoute=enxc0470e70e312 ifs={enxc0470e70e312:[10.16.3.32/24 10.16.3.52/24 llu6] tun0:[172.22.0.173/22 llu6] virbr0:[192.168.122.1/24]} v4=true v6=false}
onPortUpdate(port=44850, network=udp6)
onPortUpdate(port=34308, network=udp4)
Rebind; defIf="enxc0470e70e312", ips=[10.16.3.32/24 10.16.3.52/24 fe80::ef9b:5900:d740:c9ea/64]
magicsock: 0 active derp conns
Backend: logs: be:b7bb288ccbce59844db88ecac5a0677bbf296a2ac455973a50c50587def3a65e fe:
Switching ipn state NoState -> NeedsLogin (WantRunning=false, nm=false)
health(warnable=wantrunning-false): error: Tailscale is stopped.
blockEngineUpdates(true)
wgengine: Reconfig: configuring userspace WireGuard config (with 0/0 peers)
monitor: gateway and self IP changed: gw=10.16.3.1 self=10.16.3.32
wgengine: Reconfig: configuring router
wgengine: Reconfig: configuring DNS
dns: Set: {DefaultResolvers:[] Routes:{} SearchDomains:[] Hosts:0}
dns: Resolvercfg: {Routes:{} Hosts:0 LocalDomains:[]}
dns: OScfg: {}

$ tailscale up
Access denied: checkprefs access denied
Use 'sudo tailscale up' or 'tailscale up --operator=$USER' to not require root.

$ tailscale up --operator=$USER
Access denied: checkprefs access denied

[cho-m]

And for the one-time run:
(without sudo it complained "Permission denied")

The brew service will run as your current user so will hit same error. Can check logs at ~/.linuxbrew/var/log/tailscaled.log.

---

Anyway, from your manual run, everything looks as expected given commands you ran.

At this point, this is more of a user configuration issue. Would recommend going through official documentation on setting up.

From glance, since main tailscaled is started as root, then starting point will only allow root until you provide permissions to your non-root user, e.g. sudo tailscale set --operator=...

[github-actions]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs.

[Justinzobel]

This is still an issue.

I did brew services start tailscale and it created the systemd service file.

systemctl shows it failed:

ystemctl --user status homebrew.tailscale
× homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale
     Loaded: loaded (/home/justin/.config/systemd/user/homebrew.tailscale.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
    Drop-In: /usr/lib/systemd/user/service.d
             └─10-timeout-abort.conf
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Wed 2025-10-08 10:18:23 ACDT; 4min 16s ago
   Duration: 776ms
 Invocation: a934b62e31dd4ff1b445e6881bb42c88
    Process: 421069 ExecStart=/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
   Main PID: 421069 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)

Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 5.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: Failed to start homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale.

journalctl doesn't give much useful info:

Oct 08 10:18:18 fedora systemd[1641]: Started homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale.
Oct 08 10:18:19 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Oct 08 10:18:19 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Oct 08 10:18:19 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 1.
Oct 08 10:18:19 fedora systemd[1641]: Started homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale.
Oct 08 10:18:20 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Oct 08 10:18:20 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Oct 08 10:18:20 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 2.
Oct 08 10:18:20 fedora systemd[1641]: Started homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale.
Oct 08 10:18:21 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Oct 08 10:18:21 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Oct 08 10:18:21 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 3.
Oct 08 10:18:21 fedora systemd[1641]: Started homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale.
Oct 08 10:18:22 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Oct 08 10:18:22 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Oct 08 10:18:22 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 4.
Oct 08 10:18:22 fedora systemd[1641]: Started homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 5.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: homebrew.tailscale.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Oct 08 10:18:23 fedora systemd[1641]: Failed to start homebrew.tailscale.service - Homebrew generated unit for tailscale.

The log file shows a bit more info, and I believe it isn't actually working as tailscale needs to run as root as it needs to be able to alter iptables rules, etc.

2025/10/08 10:18:18 logtail started
2025/10/08 10:18:18 Program starting: v1.88.3-t9961c097b, Go 1.25.1: []string{"/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled"}
2025/10/08 10:18:18 LogID: 3701f286d3db63c53fcccc32a70d7eb951c940990eaa31d7c42f73882516f210
2025/10/08 10:18:18 logpolicy: using system state directory "/home/justin/.local/share/tailscale"
2025/10/08 10:18:18 dns: [resolved-ping=yes rc=resolved resolved=nss nm=no resolv-conf-mode=stub ret=systemd-resolved]
2025/10/08 10:18:18 dns: using "systemd-resolved" mode
2025/10/08 10:18:18 creating dns cleanup: route ip+net: no such network interface
2025/10/08 10:18:18 linuxfw: clear iptables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:18 linuxfw: clear ip6tables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:18 cleanup: list tables: netlink receive: operation not permitted
2025/10/08 10:18:18 flushing log.
2025/10/08 10:18:18 logger closing down
2025/10/08 10:18:19 safesocket.Listen: listen unix /var/run/tailscale/tailscaled.sock: bind: permission denied
2025/10/08 10:18:19 logtail started
2025/10/08 10:18:19 Program starting: v1.88.3-t9961c097b, Go 1.25.1: []string{"/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled"}
2025/10/08 10:18:19 LogID: 3701f286d3db63c53fcccc32a70d7eb951c940990eaa31d7c42f73882516f210
2025/10/08 10:18:19 logpolicy: using system state directory "/home/justin/.local/share/tailscale"
2025/10/08 10:18:19 dns: [resolved-ping=yes rc=resolved resolved=nss nm=no resolv-conf-mode=stub ret=systemd-resolved]
2025/10/08 10:18:19 dns: using "systemd-resolved" mode
2025/10/08 10:18:19 creating dns cleanup: route ip+net: no such network interface
2025/10/08 10:18:19 linuxfw: clear iptables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:19 linuxfw: clear ip6tables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:19 cleanup: list tables: netlink receive: operation not permitted
2025/10/08 10:18:19 flushing log.
2025/10/08 10:18:19 logger closing down
2025/10/08 10:18:20 safesocket.Listen: listen unix /var/run/tailscale/tailscaled.sock: bind: permission denied
2025/10/08 10:18:20 logtail started
2025/10/08 10:18:20 Program starting: v1.88.3-t9961c097b, Go 1.25.1: []string{"/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled"}
2025/10/08 10:18:20 LogID: 3701f286d3db63c53fcccc32a70d7eb951c940990eaa31d7c42f73882516f210
2025/10/08 10:18:20 logpolicy: using system state directory "/home/justin/.local/share/tailscale"
2025/10/08 10:18:20 dns: [resolved-ping=yes rc=resolved resolved=nss nm=no resolv-conf-mode=stub ret=systemd-resolved]
2025/10/08 10:18:20 dns: using "systemd-resolved" mode
2025/10/08 10:18:20 creating dns cleanup: route ip+net: no such network interface
2025/10/08 10:18:20 linuxfw: clear iptables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:20 linuxfw: clear ip6tables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:20 cleanup: list tables: netlink receive: operation not permitted
2025/10/08 10:18:20 flushing log.
2025/10/08 10:18:20 logger closing down
2025/10/08 10:18:21 safesocket.Listen: listen unix /var/run/tailscale/tailscaled.sock: bind: permission denied
2025/10/08 10:18:21 logtail started
2025/10/08 10:18:21 Program starting: v1.88.3-t9961c097b, Go 1.25.1: []string{"/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled"}
2025/10/08 10:18:21 LogID: 3701f286d3db63c53fcccc32a70d7eb951c940990eaa31d7c42f73882516f210
2025/10/08 10:18:21 logpolicy: using system state directory "/home/justin/.local/share/tailscale"
2025/10/08 10:18:21 dns: [resolved-ping=yes rc=resolved resolved=nss nm=no resolv-conf-mode=stub ret=systemd-resolved]
2025/10/08 10:18:21 dns: using "systemd-resolved" mode
2025/10/08 10:18:21 creating dns cleanup: route ip+net: no such network interface
2025/10/08 10:18:21 linuxfw: clear iptables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:21 linuxfw: clear ip6tables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:21 cleanup: list tables: netlink receive: operation not permitted
2025/10/08 10:18:21 flushing log.
2025/10/08 10:18:21 logger closing down
2025/10/08 10:18:22 safesocket.Listen: listen unix /var/run/tailscale/tailscaled.sock: bind: permission denied
2025/10/08 10:18:22 logtail started
2025/10/08 10:18:22 Program starting: v1.88.3-t9961c097b, Go 1.25.1: []string{"/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/opt/tailscale/bin/tailscaled"}
2025/10/08 10:18:22 LogID: 3701f286d3db63c53fcccc32a70d7eb951c940990eaa31d7c42f73882516f210
2025/10/08 10:18:22 logpolicy: using system state directory "/home/justin/.local/share/tailscale"
2025/10/08 10:18:22 dns: [resolved-ping=yes rc=resolved resolved=nss nm=no resolv-conf-mode=stub ret=systemd-resolved]
2025/10/08 10:18:22 dns: using "systemd-resolved" mode
2025/10/08 10:18:22 creating dns cleanup: route ip+net: no such network interface
2025/10/08 10:18:22 linuxfw: clear iptables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/iptables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: iptables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:22 linuxfw: clear ip6tables: multiple errors:
        deleting [-j ts-input] in filter/INPUT: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D INPUT -j ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-forward] in filter/FORWARD: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -D FORWARD -j ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        deleting [-j ts-postrouting] in nat/POSTROUTING: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -D POSTROUTING -j ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-input: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-input --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing filter/ts-forward: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t filter -N ts-forward --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)

        flushing nat/ts-postrouting: running [/usr/bin/ip6tables -t nat -N ts-postrouting --wait]: exit status 4: ip6tables v1.8.11 (nf_tables): Could not fetch rule set generation id: Permission denied (you must be root)
2025/10/08 10:18:22 cleanup: list tables: netlink receive: operation not permitted
2025/10/08 10:18:22 flushing log.
2025/10/08 10:18:22 logger closing down
2025/10/08 10:18:23 safesocket.Listen: listen unix /var/run/tailscale/tailscaled.sock: bind: permission denied

[gromgit]

I did brew services start tailscale and it created the systemd service file.
[...]
The log file shows a bit more info, and I believe it isn't actually working as tailscale needs to run as root as it needs to be able to alter iptables rules, etc.

Then you want to:

brew services stop tailscale
sudo brew services start tailscale

[Justinzobel]

Then you run into the issue that brew is generally not in root's path. Of course, I can fix that, but it leads to more things that really should be in the brew info tailscale notes.

[Justinzobel]

brew update && sudo /home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew services start tailscale
==> Updating Homebrew...
Already up-to-date.
[sudo] password for justin: 
Error: Need to download https://formulae.brew.sh/api/formula.jws.json but cannot as root! Run `brew update` without `sudo` first then try again.

[gromgit]

This is a different issue that's been encountered before, but not yet solved: Homebrew/brew#20576. You might want to follow up there instead.