Installation & Getting Started

🚀 Installation & Getting Started

This guide details system requirements, prerequisites, one-line installation, post-install verification, updates, and complete uninstallation for TAILCAT ZER0 on Asuswrt-Merlin routers.

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📋 System Requirements & Compatibility

1. Supported Firmware

• Asuswrt-Merlin 386.x, 388.x, 3004.x, and 3006.x (including Gnuton Merlin builds for DSL/AX devices).
• Stock ASUS firmware is not supported because it lacks JFFS custom script execution and writable partition hooks.

2. Supported Architectures

The installer automatically inspects your router hardware architecture via uname -m and deploys the appropriate official Tailscale TailCat engine binary:

• ARM64 (aarch64): RT-AX86U, RT-AX88U (Pro), GT-AX6000, GT-AXE16000, GT-AX11000 Pro, RT-BE96U, RT-BE98U, etc.
• ARMv7 (armv7l): RT-AC68U, RT-AC86U, RT-AX56U, RT-AX58U, etc.
• x86_64 (amd64): Virtualized Merlin test environments and custom x86 builds.

3. Prerequisites

1. Enable JFFS Custom Scripts:
   • In the Asuswrt WebGUI, navigate to: Administration ➔ System ➔ Persistent JFFS2 partition.
   • Set "Format JFFS partition at next boot" to No.
   • Set "Enable JFFS custom scripts and configs" to Yes.
   • Click Apply.
2. SSH Access Enabled:
   • Navigate to: Administration ➔ System ➔ SSH Daemon.
   • Set "Enable SSH" to LAN only (or LAN + WAN if using keys).
   • Port default is 22 (or custom port such as 5522).
3. Internet Connectivity:
   • The router must be able to resolve and reach github.com, raw.githubusercontent.com, and Tailscale's DERP relay endpoints over HTTPS/UDP.
4. Optional: Entware:
   • If Entware is installed (amtm ➔ ep), TAILCAT ZER0 automatically links into /opt/bin/ and takes advantage of qrencode for crisp ASCII QR codes, as well as enhanced diagnostic tools like rg (ripgrep) and tree.

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⚡ One-Line Quick Install

Log into your router via SSH and run the following command:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/underd0se/tailcat-zero/main/install.sh | sh

What the Installer Does Automatically:

1. Verifies JFFS Partition: Ensures /jffs is mounted, writable, and has sufficient space (>15MB).
2. Detects Architecture: Identifies your CPU (arm64, armv7, or amd64).
3. Fetches Engine Binary: Downloads the official compiled tailcat engine directly from Tailscale's GitHub Releases.
4. Installs Scripts:
   • Main manager: /jffs/addons/tailcatzero/tailcatzero
   • View-only sandbox: /jffs/addons/tailcatzero/tailcat-view-shell
   • Default configuration: /jffs/addons/tailcatzero/tailcatzero.cfg
5. Registers PATH Symlinks:
   • Creates /jffs/scripts/tailcatzero
   • Creates backward-compatible alias /jffs/scripts/tailcat
   • Links into /opt/bin/tailcatzero (if Entware is present).

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✅ Post-Installation Verification

Confirm that TAILCAT ZER0 is correctly installed and in your system $PATH:

tailcatzero --version

Expected output:

TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1 (engine v0.6.0)

Check the initial service status:

tailcatzero status

Expected output:

[⚪] No active TAILCAT ZER0 sessions running.

Launch the interactive terminal dashboard:

tailcatzero

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              ╱|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |、˜〵
  Instant Tunnel Manager         じしˍ,)ノ

========================================================================

  1. 🆘 Remote Support Shell         Full root or view-only access      [⚪ Inactive]
  2. 📥 Receive Files                Direct P2P file transfer           [⚪ Inactive]
  3. 📁 Share Directory (SFTP)       Share a folder from your drive     [⚪ Inactive]
  4. 🌐 Expose Router WebGUI         Access to router's web interface   [⚪ Inactive]

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  5. ⏱️ Configure Default Timeout    Current: 30 min
  6. ⚙️ Manage TAILCAT ZER0          Update, reinstall, or remove

========================================================================

  👁️ View Sessions  |  🛑 Stop  |  ↩️ Exit: 

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🔄 Updates & Upgrades

TAILCAT ZER0 includes an intelligent dual-component updater that maintains both the management CLI scripts and the compiled TailCat engine binary.

Updating via TUI:

Launch tailcatzero, select Option 6 (Manage TAILCAT ZER0), and choose Option 1 (Check & Update).

Updating via CLI:

tailcatzero update

Smart Version Comparison Logic:

• CLI Script Update: Fetches the latest script from GitHub. If an update is applied, the script automatically reloads the in-memory shell process cleanly.
• Engine Binary Check: Inspects the installed engine version against the latest GitHub release. If versions match, redundant downloads are skipped:

========================================================================
  🐱 TAILCAT ZER0 — Dual-Component Update Check
========================================================================

  [1/2] Checking TAILCAT ZER0 Script:
        Current: v1.7.1 | Remote: v1.7.1
        [✓] Script is up to date.

  [2/2] Checking TailCat Engine Binary:
        Current: v0.6.0 | Remote: v0.6.0
        [✓] Engine binary is already up to date (v0.6.0).

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🗑️ Uninstallation

If you ever wish to completely remove TAILCAT ZER0 from your router:

Method 1: Via TUI

Launch tailcatzero ➔ select Option 6 (Manage TAILCAT ZER0) ➔ select Option 3 (Complete Uninstall):

  TAILCAT ZER0 v1.7.1              ╱|、
                                 (˚ˎ 。7
                                  |、˜〵
  Instant Tunnel Manager         じしˍ,)ノ

========================================================================

  🗑️  Uninstall TAILCAT ZER0

  This will terminate all active sessions and clean up all TailCat files.

========================================================================

  🗑️ Yes, Uninstall  |  ↩️ Back / Cancel: 

Confirm with y to terminate all tunnels and purge all addon files.

Method 2: Via Command Line

Run this cleanup sequence to stop all tunnels and remove files:

# Stop all running sessions
tailcatzero stop all 2>/dev/null

# Remove addon directories and scripts
rm -rf /jffs/addons/tailcatzero /jffs/addons/tailcat
rm -f /jffs/scripts/tailcatzero /jffs/scripts/tailcat
rm -f /opt/bin/tailcatzero /opt/bin/tailcat

# Clean volatile session locks and pipes
rm -rf /tmp/tailcat-* /tmp/tailcatzero-*

Your router's firewall rules and network configuration remain completely untouched and clean.