Issue with API access from headscale-admin to headscale using ts side car.

[peskyAdmin]

I am trying to go for an a-typical deployment. In an effort to both easily manage my access to the admin page and to secure it from the internet I am running a sidecar tailscale container to the headscale-admin container. based on the official directions. i have headscale running in its own container as well.

so a little background I am running headscale behind nginx proxy manager (NPM). Headscale is working great. I have tls and it's acessable via "https://headscale.MY_DOMAIN" based on the following configs. i can see that my headscale-ui container has joined my tailnet as a node by running "headscale nodes list". I can even navigate to it from another node: :). if i go into the headscale-ui container and "ping headscale" i have connectivity.

The problem is it that im unable to get the api key to be accepted. I have generated an api key from headscale based on the directions and have it entered, the issue is that no matter what url i put in for the api its not working.

Headscale config

---
# headscale will look for a configuration file named `config.yaml` (or `config.json`) in the following order:
#
# - `/etc/headscale`
# - `~/.headscale`
# - current working directory

# The url clients will connect to.
# Typically this will be a domain like:
#
# https://myheadscale.example.com:443
#
server_url: https://headscale.MY_DOMAN.com

# Address to listen to / bind to on the server
#
# For production:
# listen_addr: 0.0.0.0:8080
# DEFUAT: listen_addr: 127.0.0.1:8080
listen_addr: 0.0.0.0:443

# Address to listen to /metrics, you may want
# to keep this endpoint private to your internal
# network
#
metrics_listen_addr: 127.0.0.1:9090

# Address to listen for gRPC.
# gRPC is used for controlling a headscale server
# remotely with the CLI
# Note: Remote access _only_ works if you have
# valid certificates.
#
# For production:
# grpc_listen_addr: 0.0.0.0:50443
grpc_listen_addr: 127.0.0.1:50443

# Allow the gRPC admin interface to run in INSECURE
# mode. This is not recommended as the traffic will
# be unencrypted. Only enable if you know what you
# are doing.
grpc_allow_insecure: false

# The Noise section includes specific configuration for the
# TS2021 Noise protocol
noise:
  # The Noise private key is used to encrypt the
  # traffic between headscale and Tailscale clients when
  # using the new Noise-based protocol.
  private_key_path: /var/lib/headscale/noise_private.key

# List of IP prefixes to allocate tailaddresses from.
# Each prefix consists of either an IPv4 or IPv6 address,
# and the associated prefix length, delimited by a slash.
# It must be within IP ranges supported by the Tailscale
# client - i.e., subnets of 100.64.0.0/10 and fd7a:115c:a1e0::/48.
# See below:
# IPv6: https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale/blob/22ebb25e833264f58d7c3f534a8b166894a89536/net/tsaddr/tsaddr.go#LL81C52-L81C71
# IPv4: https://github.com/tailscale/tailscale/blob/22ebb25e833264f58d7c3f534a8b166894a89536/net/tsaddr/tsaddr.go#L33
# Any other range is NOT supported, and it will cause unexpected issues.
prefixes:
  v6: fd7a:115c:a1e0::/48
  v4: 100.64.0.0/10

  # Strategy used for allocation of IPs to nodes, available options:
  # - sequential (default): assigns the next free IP from the previous given IP.
  # - random: assigns the next free IP from a pseudo-random IP generator (crypto/rand).
  allocation: sequential

# DERP is a relay system that Tailscale uses when a direct
# connection cannot be established.
# https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works/#encrypted-tcp-relays-derp
#
# headscale needs a list of DERP servers that can be presented
# to the clients.
derp:
  server:
    # If enabled, runs the embedded DERP server and merges it into the rest of the DERP config
    # The Headscale server_url defined above MUST be using https, DERP requires TLS to be in place
    enabled: false

    # Region ID to use for the embedded DERP server.
    # The local DERP prevails if the region ID collides with other region ID coming from
    # the regular DERP config.
    region_id: 999

    # Region code and name are displayed in the Tailscale UI to identify a DERP region
    region_code: "headscale"
    region_name: "Headscale Embedded DERP"

    # Listens over UDP at the configured address for STUN connections - to help with NAT traversal.
    # When the embedded DERP server is enabled stun_listen_addr MUST be defined.
    #
    # For more details on how this works, check this great article: https://tailscale.com/blog/how-tailscale-works/
    stun_listen_addr: "0.0.0.0:3478"

    # Private key used to encrypt the traffic between headscale DERP
    # and Tailscale clients.
    # The private key file will be autogenerated if it's missing.
    #
    private_key_path: /var/lib/headscale/derp_server_private.key

    # This flag can be used, so the DERP map entry for the embedded DERP server is not written automatically,
    # it enables the creation of your very own DERP map entry using a locally available file with the parameter DERP.paths
    # If you enable the DERP server and set this to false, it is required to add the DERP server to the DERP map using DERP.paths
    automatically_add_embedded_derp_region: true

    # For better connection stability (especially when using an Exit-Node and DNS is not working),
    # it is possible to optionall add the public IPv4 and IPv6 address to the Derp-Map using:
    ipv4: 1.2.3.4
    ipv6: 2001:db8::1

  # List of externally available DERP maps encoded in JSON
  urls:
    - https://controlplane.tailscale.com/derpmap/default

  # Locally available DERP map files encoded in YAML
  #
  # This option is mostly interesting for people hosting
  # their own DERP servers:
  # https://tailscale.com/kb/1118/custom-derp-servers/
  #
  # paths:
  #   - /etc/headscale/derp-example.yaml
  paths: []

  # If enabled, a worker will be set up to periodically
  # refresh the given sources and update the derpmap
  # will be set up.
  auto_update_enabled: true

  # How often should we check for DERP updates?
  update_frequency: 24h

# Disables the automatic check for headscale updates on startup
disable_check_updates: false

# Time before an inactive ephemeral node is deleted?
ephemeral_node_inactivity_timeout: 30m

database:
  type: sqlite

  # SQLite config
  sqlite:
    path: /var/lib/headscale/db.sqlite

  # # Postgres config
  # postgres:
  #   # If using a Unix socket to connect to Postgres, set the socket path in the 'host' field and leave 'port' blank.
  #   host: localhost
  #   port: 5432
  #   name: headscale
  #   user: foo
  #   pass: bar
  #   max_open_conns: 10
  #   max_idle_conns: 10
  #   conn_max_idle_time_secs: 3600

  #   # If other 'sslmode' is required instead of 'require(true)' and 'disabled(false)', set the 'sslmode' you need
  #   # in the 'ssl' field. Refers to https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/libpq-ssl.html Table 34.1.
  #   ssl: false

### TLS configuration
#
## Let's encrypt / ACME
#
# headscale supports automatically requesting and setting up
# TLS for a domain with Let's Encrypt.
#
# URL to ACME directory
acme_url: https://acme-v02.api.letsencrypt.org/directory

# Email to register with ACME provider
acme_email: ""

# Domain name to request a TLS certificate for:
# tls_letsencrypt_hostname: "headscale.MY_DOMAIN"
tls_letsencrypt_hostname: ""

# Path to store certificates and metadata needed by
# letsencrypt
# For production:
tls_letsencrypt_cache_dir: /var/lib/headscale/cache

# Type of ACME challenge to use, currently supported types:
# HTTP-01 or TLS-ALPN-01
# See [docs/tls.md](docs/tls.md) for more information
tls_letsencrypt_challenge_type: HTTP-01
# When HTTP-01 challenge is chosen, letsencrypt must set up a
# verification endpoint, and it will be listening on:
# :http = port 80
tls_letsencrypt_listen: ":http"

## Use already defined certificates:
tls_cert_path: ""
tls_key_path: ""

log:
  # Output formatting for logs: text or json
  format: text
  level: info

# Path to a file containg ACL policies.
# ACLs can be defined as YAML or HUJSON.
# https://tailscale.com/kb/1018/acls/
acl_policy_path: ""

## DNS
#
# headscale supports Tailscale's DNS configuration and MagicDNS.
# Please have a look to their KB to better understand the concepts:
#
# - https://tailscale.com/kb/1054/dns/
# - https://tailscale.com/kb/1081/magicdns/
# - https://tailscale.com/blog/2021-09-private-dns-with-magicdns/
#
dns_config:
  # Whether to prefer using Headscale provided DNS or use local.
  override_local_dns: true

  # List of DNS servers to expose to clients.
  nameservers:
    - 1.1.1.1

  # NextDNS (see https://tailscale.com/kb/1218/nextdns/).
  # "abc123" is example NextDNS ID, replace with yours.
  #
  # With metadata sharing:
  # nameservers:
  #   - https://dns.nextdns.io/abc123
  #
  # Without metadata sharing:
  # nameservers:
  #   - 2a07:a8c0::ab:c123
  #   - 2a07:a8c1::ab:c123

  # Split DNS (see https://tailscale.com/kb/1054/dns/),
  # list of search domains and the DNS to query for each one.
  #
  # restricted_nameservers:
  #   foo.bar.com:
  #     - 1.1.1.1
  #   darp.headscale.net:
  #     - 1.1.1.1
  #     - 8.8.8.8

  # Search domains to inject.
  domains: []

  # Extra DNS records
  # so far only A-records are supported (on the tailscale side)
  # See https://github.com/juanfont/headscale/blob/main/docs/dns-records.md#Limitations
  # extra_records:
  #   - name: "grafana.myvpn.example.com"
  #     type: "A"
  #     value: "100.64.0.3"
  #
  #   # you can also put it in one line
  #   - { name: "prometheus.myvpn.example.com", type: "A", value: "100.64.0.3" }

  # Whether to use [MagicDNS](https://tailscale.com/kb/1081/magicdns/).
  # Only works if there is at least a nameserver defined.
  magic_dns: true

  # Defines the base domain to create the hostnames for MagicDNS.
  # `base_domain` must be a FQDNs, without the trailing dot.
  # The FQDN of the hosts will be
  # `hostname.user.base_domain` (e.g., _myhost.myuser.example.com_).
  base_domain: MY_DOMAIN

# Unix socket used for the CLI to connect without authentication
# Note: for production you will want to set this to something like:
unix_socket: /var/run/headscale/headscale.sock
unix_socket_permission: "0770"
#
# headscale supports experimental OpenID connect support,
# it is still being tested and might have some bugs, please
# help us test it.
# OpenID Connect
# oidc:
#   only_start_if_oidc_is_available: true
#   issuer: "https://your-oidc.issuer.com/path"
#   client_id: "your-oidc-client-id"
#   client_secret: "your-oidc-client-secret"
#   # Alternatively, set `client_secret_path` to read the secret from the file.
#   # It resolves environment variables, making integration to systemd's
#   # `LoadCredential` straightforward:
#   client_secret_path: "${CREDENTIALS_DIRECTORY}/oidc_client_secret"
#   # client_secret and client_secret_path are mutually exclusive.
#
#   # The amount of time from a node is authenticated with OpenID until it
#   # expires and needs to reauthenticate.
#   # Setting the value to "0" will mean no expiry.
#   expiry: 180d
#
#   # Use the expiry from the token received from OpenID when the user logged
#   # in, this will typically lead to frequent need to reauthenticate and should
#   # only been enabled if you know what you are doing.
#   # Note: enabling this will cause `oidc.expiry` to be ignored.
#   use_expiry_from_token: false
#
#   # Customize the scopes used in the OIDC flow, defaults to "openid", "profile" and "email" and add custom query
#   # parameters to the Authorize Endpoint request. Scopes default to "openid", "profile" and "email".
#
#   scope: ["openid", "profile", "email", "custom"]
#   extra_params:
#     domain_hint: example.com
#
#   # List allowed principal domains and/or users. If an authenticated user's domain is not in this list, the
#   # authentication request will be rejected.
#
#   allowed_domains:
#     - example.com
#   # Note: Groups from keycloak have a leading '/'
#   allowed_groups:
#     - /headscale
#   allowed_users:
#     - [email protected]
#
#   # If `strip_email_domain` is set to `true`, the domain part of the username email address will be removed.
#   # This will transform `[email protected]` to the user `first-name.last-name`
#   # If `strip_email_domain` is set to `false` the domain part will NOT be removed resulting to the following
#   user: `first-name.last-name.example.com`
#
#   strip_email_domain: true

# Logtail configuration
# Logtail is Tailscales logging and auditing infrastructure, it allows the control panel
# to instruct tailscale nodes to log their activity to a remote server.
logtail:
  # Enable logtail for this headscales clients.
  # As there is currently no support for overriding the log server in headscale, this is
  # disabled by default. Enabling this will make your clients send logs to Tailscale Inc.
  enabled: false

# Enabling this option makes devices prefer a random port for WireGuard traffic over the
# default static port 41641. This option is intended as a workaround for some buggy
# firewall devices. See https://tailscale.com/kb/1181/firewalls/ for more information.
randomize_client_port: false

Headscale docker-compose

version: "3.7"

services:
  headscale:
    image: headscale/headscale:v0.23.0-alpha8
    restart: unless-stopped
    container_name: headscale
    ports:
      - 443:443
      - 9090:9090
      - 3478:3478
    volumes:
      - ./config:/etc/headscale
      - ./headscale-data:/var/lib/headscale
    command: serve

headscale-admin docker-compose

---
version: "3.7"
services:
  ts-headscale-ui:
    image: tailscale/tailscale:latest
    hostname: headscale-ui
    environment:
      - TS_AUTHKEY=MY_KEY
      - TS_EXTRA_ARGS=--login-server=https://headscale.MY_DOMAIN
      - TS_STATE_DIR=/var/lib/tailscale
    volumes:
      - tailscale-data:/var/lib/tailscale
      - /dev/net/tun:/dev/net/tun
    cap_add:
      - net_admin
      - sys_module
    restart: unless-stopped
  headscale-ui:
    image: goodieshq/headscale-admin:latest
    container_name: headscale-ui
    restart: unless-stopped
    network_mode: service:ts-headscale-ui
    depends_on: 
      - ts-headscale-ui
volumes:
  tailscale-data:
    driver: local

[peskyAdmin]

does the api use the grpc port? should enable unsecure grpc? dying to get this going looks like you've done some amazing work

[GoodiesHQ]

Hey there! So from a cursory view, I wanted to mention that in the Settings page, you can fill out the API URL to point to your actual headscale API. By default, it will just take the base domain of your current URL that the admin is hosted on, but if the API and headscale-admin are hosted in different places, make sure to put in your URL explicitly.

Also, make sure you add CORS headers to permit the URL in your browser to access those resources :)

Let me know if that fixes it. If not, I'll look further into it.

[GoodiesHQ]

And also, just to be very clear, there is no need to "secure it from the internet" in the sense of hiding it behind a network or additional authentication. At the end of the day, all it is doing is providing an API key (stored within your browser, NOT stored on, or even transmitted to, the server side) to the API URL you provide. It is a glorified HTML wrapper around HTTP requests that can be replicated with cURL commands. Exposing it does not increase any risk since your API is already "exposed" and this is a static application that just interacts with the API. I do always recommend hosting it using HTTPS to avoid script injection attacks and the likes, but there is nothing wrong with having it exposed and publicly accessible. It is just HTML and JS files that turn your browser into a HTTP client for the Headscale API, and that is only possible if you have a valid API key.

[ilium007]

I can't connect to UI either. Headscale is accepting Tailscale clients, firewall is set up. I'm not sure what API URL I should be entering - do I specify the 50443 port? I have TCP port 50443 forwarded to the headscale-admin host (same host that is hosting headscale for testing). Valid SSL certs have been added to headscale config.yaml.

I have created a DNS entry for the admin UI on the same domain as the SSL cert I have loaded in config.yaml

gRPC config:

# Address to listen for gRPC.
# gRPC is used for controlling a headscale server
# remotely with the CLI
# Note: Remote access _only_ works if you have
# valid certificates.
#
# For production:
grpc_listen_addr: 0.0.0.0:50443
#grpc_listen_addr: 127.0.0.1:50443

# Allow the gRPC admin interface to run in INSECURE
# mode. This is not recommended as the traffic will
# be unencrypted. Only enable if you know what you
# are doing.
grpc_allow_insecure: false