Online "Run Unattended" documentation contradicts Windows desktop GUI information

[krthornton]

What is the issue?

The documentation provided on the official Tailscale website states that Tailscale for Windows will run "as the system" when the "Run Unattended" feature is enabled. When enabling this feature via the desktop GUI, the below message is displayed, stating that Tailscale will run as the current user, even when the user is not logged in. It then suggests using the Tailscale CLI in tandem with ACL Tags to achieve running as a non-root user. This seemingly contradicts what the online documentation states. Will Tailscale run as the system according to the documentation online, or will it run as the current user according to the GUI message?

Excerpt from Online Documentation

On Windows, you can solve this by using "Run Unattended" mode. This configures Tailscale to run as the system instead of the currently logged in user.

GUI Message

Steps to reproduce

Assuming that Tailscale for Windows is already installed and the "Run Unattended" feature is not already enabled:

1. Right click on the Tailscale app tray icon.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Select "Run Unattended".

A pop-up window confirming the user's decision to enable the feature should present itself. In this window is the seemingly contradictory text.

Are there any recent changes that introduced the issue?

I have not checked this on any earlier versions.

OS

Windows

OS version

Windows 11 24H2 26100.2894

Tailscale version

1.78.1

Other software

No response

Bug report

BUG-835c890226070b36e559301e6efd37ee8a0c102c6380e776e70de3eac5c462d0-20250129193650Z-96045666ce054a1e

[cokecan72]

My interpretation of the GUI message is that Tailscale will remain running and connected to the talent as your Tailscale identity (assuming you aren't using tags), rather than the client remaining running as your local OS user whether you're logged in or not. Running in unattended mode and connecting using an ACL tag should mean Tailscale runs without any local OS user signed in and without your Tailscale identity establishing the connection to completely disconnect it from you.

[grumpymojo]

I know this is an older issue but I was confused by this message at first. It just means that if you associate a tag with this machine, it no longer is associated with the user who joined it to your tailscale. Tags can be done through the admin interface or via cli with --advertise-tags=<tags> Give tagged permissions to this device. You must be [listed in "TagOwners"](https://tailscale.com/kb/1337/policy-syntax#tag-owners) to be able to apply tags.
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