Play with friends on your private Tailnet without port forwarding, without public servers.
TailMod embeds a full Tailscale node (via tsnet) directly into the Minecraft client. No external daemon, no router configuration — just click and connect.
| Tailnet peer list | Login screen |
|---|---|
 |
 |
- One-click connect — see all your Tailnet peers, click to join their Minecraft server
- LAN world sharing — friends who open "Open to LAN" appear in TailnetScreen automatically; connect with one click just like a real LAN game
- Auto-reconnect — on restart the mod silently reconnects using saved credentials (no re-login needed)
- Browser auth — no auth key required; log in via browser the first time, done
- SLP ping — shows server version and player count (
3/20 | 1.21.4 | 12ms) for each online peer - Favorites — star ★ any peer to pin them to the top
- Online first — online peers always sorted above offline ones
- Double-click to connect — works like the normal multiplayer screen
- Voice chat proxy — Simple Voice Chat (port 24454) and webcam mods (port 25454) work out of the box
- Configurable UDP ports — add any extra UDP ports in ModMenu settings
- Cross-platform natives — prebuilt
libtailscalefor Linux x64, Windows x64, macOS x64 and macOS arm64 (Apple Silicon) - ModMenu settings — change auth key, UDP ports, disconnect, all without restarting
| Dependency | Version |
|---|---|
| Minecraft | 26.1.2 |
| Fabric Loader | 0.19.1 |
| Fabric API | 0.149.1+26.1.2 |
| ModMenu | 18.0.0-alpha.8 (optional) |
- Install Fabric Loader 0.19.1 for Minecraft 26.1.2
- Drop
tailmod-0.1.1.jarinto your.minecraft/mods/folder - Launch the game — the Tailnet button appears next to Multiplayer on the title screen
- With auth key — paste your
tskey-auth-...key from Tailscale Admin - Browser login — click "Login via browser", approve in your browser, done
Credentials are saved; subsequent launches connect automatically.
TailMod works over your Tailnet — a private encrypted network managed by Tailscale. For you and your friends to see each other in the peer list, you all need to be on the same Tailnet.
- Open Tailscale Admin → Users and click Invite user (or share an invite link).
- Your friend installs Tailscale or just uses TailMod — the mod creates its own Tailscale node automatically.
- After they accept the invite, they appear in your TailnetScreen and you appear in theirs.
Tip: You don't both need to use the same Tailscale account — one person owns the Tailnet and invites others as members or guests.
| Scenario | What to do |
|---|---|
| LAN world | Open your world → Escape → "Open to LAN". TailMod broadcasts this to all Tailnet peers automatically — they see it in the peer list with one-click connect. |
| Dedicated server | Install Tailscale on the server machine and join your Tailnet. Friends connect to it via TailMod just like any other peer in the list. |
| Same machine, different player | Just run TailMod — LAN world sharing handles everything. |
Note: The server machine does not need TailMod — only the clients connecting to it do. The server just needs to be reachable on your Tailnet (via Tailscale app or another TailMod instance).
Minecraft client
└─ TailMod (Fabric mod)
├─ tsnet node (libtailscale.so / .dll / .dylib) ← userspace Tailscale, no daemon needed
├─ TCP proxy 127.0.0.1:25566 ← MC connects here, we forward via tsnet
├─ UDP proxies 24454, 25454, … ← voice chat, webcam mods
└─ LAN beacon :25561 ← announces open LAN worlds to tailnet peers
The mod starts an embedded Tailscale node in the JVM process using tsnet. All traffic between you and your peers goes directly over WireGuard — no Mojang relay, no third-party proxy.
| Tool | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Go 1.22+ | Build the native library |
| JDK 25 | Build the mod jar |
| C compiler | CGo (see per-platform notes below) |
| Zig 0.13+ | Cross-compilation to other platforms (optional) |
Build for the platform you're currently on:
Linux (x64)
cd native
CGO_ENABLED=1 go build -buildmode=c-shared -mod=vendor \
-o ../src/main/resources/natives/linux-amd64/libtailscale.so .macOS (Apple Silicon)
cd native
CGO_ENABLED=1 go build -buildmode=c-shared -mod=vendor \
-o ../src/main/resources/natives/macos-arm64/libtailscale.dylib .macOS (Intel)
cd native
CGO_ENABLED=1 go build -buildmode=c-shared -mod=vendor \
-o ../src/main/resources/natives/macos-amd64/libtailscale.dylib .Windows (x64) — requires MinGW-w64 (gcc on PATH):
cd native
$env:CGO_ENABLED = "1"
$env:CC = "gcc"
go build -buildmode=c-shared -mod=vendor `
-o ..\src\main\resources\natives\windows-amd64\tailscale.dll ../gradlew build
# Output: build/libs/tailmod-0.1.1.jarBuilds Linux, macOS (x64 + arm64) and Windows from a single Linux machine:
# Build native libraries for all platforms
nix-shell shell.nix --run "bash scripts/build-native.sh all"
# Build the mod jar
nix-shell shell.nix --run "gradle build"For a single target:
nix-shell shell.nix --run "bash scripts/build-native.sh windows-amd64"| Component | Description |
|---|---|
native/tailscale.go |
CGo wrapper over tsnet; exports C API loaded via JNA |
tailscale/TailscaleNode.java |
High-level Java wrapper around the native node |
proxy/TailProxy.java |
TCP proxy: 127.0.0.1:25566 → peer_ip:mcPort via tsnet |
proxy/UdpPortProxy.java |
UDP proxy for voice/webcam ports |
LanDiscovery.java |
LAN world beacon — detect and share open LAN worlds over Tailnet |
SlpPinger.java |
Modern SLP ping (1.7+ protocol) through tsnet |
screen/TailnetScreen.java |
Peer list UI with SLP status, LAN worlds, favorites |
mixin/TitleScreenMixin.java |
Splits "Multiplayer" button → "Multiplayer" + "Tailnet" |
mixin/ConnectScreenMixin.java |
Auto-routes Tailscale IPs (100.64–127.x) through the proxy |
mixin/LanServerPingerMixin.java |
Captures "Open to LAN" events to broadcast to peers |
MIT