Skip to content

Network & Remote Access

This page documents the Tailscale remote-access setup completed for the Raspberry Pi Nextcloud server. The goal was to enable secure access from outside the home network without opening public inbound ports.

📅 Day 3 Progress — Tailscale Setup

✅ Completed today

  • Installed Tailscale on the Raspberry Pi using the official Linux installer
  • Brought the Pi online in the Tailnet and completed browser authentication
  • Verified that the Pi appears in the Tailscale dashboard
  • Confirmed assignment of both Tailscale IP and MagicDNS hostname
  • Updated Nextcloud trusted domains to allow access over Tailscale DNS/IP
  • Verified successful mobile access from a separate network (personal hotspot)

🔗 Resource used today:

1️⃣ Install Tailscale on the Pi

Using the official Linux install resource:

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

Terminal screenshot showing Tailscale installation commands executed on the Raspberry Pi

2️⃣ Connect the Pi to your Tailnet

Bring the node online and request login:

sudo tailscale up

This command returns an authentication URL. Open it in a browser, sign in with your Tailscale account, and approve the device.

Terminal screenshot showing the tailscale up command and authentication flow

3️⃣ Verify the Pi in the Tailscale dashboard

After approval, the Raspberry Pi should appear as connected in the Tailscale dashboard.

Expected values:

  • Tailscale IPv4 (typically in 100.x.x.x range)
  • MagicDNS hostname (for example, pi-server.your-tailnet.ts.net)

Tailscale dashboard screenshot showing the Raspberry Pi node as connected

Tailscale dashboard screenshot showing assigned Tailscale IP and MagicDNS hostname

🔒 Redact sensitive values before publishing screenshots

Blur or black out private details in screenshots before committing documentation: - Tailscale IP addresses - MagicDNS hostnames / Tailnet identifiers - Account email or profile details

4️⃣ Add Tailscale addresses to Nextcloud trusted domains

To prevent Access through untrusted domain errors, add your Tailscale address details to Nextcloud's trusted domain list.

Replace placeholders with your own values:

sudo nextcloud.occ config:system:set trusted_domains 1 --value="<YOUR-TAILSCALE-IP>"
sudo nextcloud.occ config:system:set trusted_domains 2 --value="<YOUR-MAGICDNS-HOSTNAME>"

To verify current entries:

sudo nextcloud.occ config:system:get trusted_domains

Example format only (do not copy directly):

sudo nextcloud.occ config:system:set trusted_domains 1 --value="100.64.0.10"
sudo nextcloud.occ config:system:set trusted_domains 2 --value="pi-server.example-tailnet.ts.net"

Terminal screenshot showing Nextcloud trusted domain / DNS configuration commands

5️⃣ Validate DNS + remote access from mobile

Remote access was tested end-to-end on a mobile device:

  1. Installing the Tailscale app
  2. Installing the Nextcloud app
  3. Logging into Tailscale with the same account used for the Pi
  4. Connecting the phone to a different network (personal hotspot)
  5. Logging into Nextcloud using the Pi's Tailscale DNS/IP

Mobile screenshot showing Tailscale connected on the phone

Mobile screenshot showing successful Nextcloud sign-in to the Raspberry Pi server

✅ Result: mobile login was successful, and the Pi-hosted Nextcloud instance remained reachable even when the phone was off home Wi-Fi and connected through a personal hotspot.

Why this matters

This validates secure, encrypted, identity-based remote access via Tailscale without exposing Nextcloud directly to the public internet.