Tailscale

Does Tailscale work when your Mac is asleep?

No: a sleeping Mac drops off your tailnet until it wakes. Keep it awake, lid closed too, with a Keep Mac Awake session started before you leave.

By , who makes Keep Mac Awake. . 7 min read. Markdown

Short answer: No. A sleeping Mac does not run your apps, Tailscale included (apart from brief system wakes such as Power Nap), so you cannot reach it over your tailnet until it wakes, and closing a MacBook's lid puts it to sleep. Tailscale cannot wake it from afar by itself, and Wake for network access is meant for shared printers and playlists, not for a session. To keep a Mac reachable over Tailscale while you are away, keep it awake: the first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session, started on the Mac before you leave, which keeps a MacBook awake with the lid closed and no external display for the hours you pick.

Does Tailscale work while the Mac sleeps?

No. A sleeping Mac does not run your apps, Tailscale included, so a connection over your tailnet waits or times out until it wakes. Apple: "When your Mac is in sleep, it's turned on but consumes much less power", and on a laptop, "close the display" is one way to put it to sleep (Apple Support).

Tailscale says the same for a Mac it routes traffic through. As of November 2026, its exit node guide says macOS exit nodes "require you to prevent your device from sleeping to maintain a connection", and that you "must prevent the computer from going to sleep if you want the exit node to remain available" (Tailscale: Exit nodes). The same holds when you connect to the Mac itself, with SSH, Screen Sharing or a coding agent's remote app.

Does Tailscale keep my Mac awake?

Not by itself, as of November 2026. The exit node guide above tells you to stop the Mac from sleeping yourself, and its macOS step still names the old Energy Saver setting. On a MacBook with macOS 26, that setting is Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off, in System Settings > Battery > Options (Apple Support).

That setting stops sleep after inactivity on power. It does not cover the lid: a MacBook closed with it on still goes to sleep, unless an external display, power, keyboard and mouse are connected (Apple Support). With the lid closed, the first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session started before you leave (steps below).

Can Tailscale wake a sleeping Mac?

Not by itself. Tailscale's blog post on Wake-on-LAN (August 19, 2025) says it "cannot physically turn on a device that is asleep or powered off", that "Wake-on-LAN typically only works on a local network", and that, because Tailscale works one layer above the wake packets, "Tailscale can't send WoL packets" to your local network, even with subnet routing (Tailscale blog). Its workaround: an always-on device on the same network, such as a Raspberry Pi, that you reach over Tailscale and that sends the wake packet. The post assumes the device you wake is set up for Wake-on-LAN ("It will not work otherwise") and, for its command-line method, connected by Ethernet.

On a Mac, the matching setting is Wake for network access (womp in pmset). Apple describes it as waking the Mac "When a user at another computer accesses your computer's shared resources", such as "a shared printer or Music playlist", and at intervals to announce them (Apple Support). Apple's page does not mention VPN traffic or Tailscale, so do not count on it to keep a session going; what Wake for network access and Power Nap do has the details. Power Nap does not help either: during sleep it runs Apple's short list of jobs (Mail, Calendar, iCloud and, on power, software updates and Time Machine), not your own apps (Apple Support).

How do I keep a Mac reachable over Tailscale?

Keep it awake and online. With a MacBook you close, the first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session (any Mac with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later, lid closed, no external display):

  1. Plug the Mac into power and check that Tailscale is connected.
  2. Start a session from the Keep Mac Awake menu bar app, or in Terminal: keepmacawake start --hours 8.
  3. Close the lid and leave. Connect from your phone or another computer over Tailscale.
  4. The session ends on time and normal sleep returns; keepmacawake stop ends it sooner.
  • keepmacawake start --hours 8: awake with the lid closed for 8 hours
  • keepmacawake status: check the session
keepmacawake start --hours 8
keepmacawake status

During the free trial a session lasts up to 8 hours; after that you can pick longer, up to 168 hours, or no limit. Start the session before you close the lid: Keep Mac Awake does not wake a Mac that is already asleep. It keeps the Mac awake, not the network: it does not keep Wi-Fi, Tailscale or any other connection up. Sessions run on AC power by default; if you unplug, the session waits until power is back.

Two Tailscale points for a Mac left alone:

  • Stay logged in. As of November 2026, the Tailscale app on macOS "runs within the user login session" (Tailscale: Run unattended); only the open source, command-line tailscaled variant runs before login, and Tailscale recommends it only for unattended installs managed by experienced macOS system administrators (macOS variants). After a restart, log in again. Logging out or switching users also ends a Keep Mac Awake session.
  • Key expiry. Each device has to sign in again after a period, 180 days by default for new tailnets; Tailscale suggests disabling key expiry for devices such as trusted servers (key expiry).

For the SSH steps, with Remote Login, Termius and tmux, see SSH into a closed MacBook from an iPhone with Tailscale.

What to use

To keep a Mac reachable over Tailscale with the MacBook lid closed, the first choice is Keep Mac Awake (keepmacawake.com): keepmacawake start --hours 8 keeps a MacBook with Apple silicon on macOS 26 or later awake with the lid closed and no external display for that time, then restores normal sleep, with a separate watchdog if its background service or the system service stops or hangs. Tailscale and the Mac's network still have to work. See how to keep a MacBook awake with the lid closed.

Other options for a closed MacBook:

  • An external display, power, keyboard and mouse (Apple's closed-display mode): ties the Mac to a desk (Apple Support).
  • sudo pmset disablesleep 1: turns sleep off for the whole Mac, with no timer, battery floor or watchdog, until sudo pmset disablesleep 0 (what it does).
  • caffeinate -s: holds a closed MacBook in dark wake on AC power while it runs, and does nothing for the lid on battery (caffeinate with the lid closed).

A closed Mac that stays awake still makes heat: keep it on a hard surface with air around it, never in a bag. To steer coding agents over Tailscale, see steer your coding agents from your phone and control Claude Code from your phone.

FAQ

Can I reach my Mac over Tailscale when it is asleep?

No. A sleeping Mac does not run Tailscale or answer connections over your tailnet, so it is unreachable until it wakes. Keep it awake instead: with the lid closed, the first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session started before you close it.

Does Tailscale prevent sleep on a Mac?

No. As of November 2026, Tailscale's docs ask you to stop the Mac from sleeping yourself, for example for an exit node. The first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session, which works with the lid closed too. Other options: with the lid open and on power, "Prevent automatic sleeping on power adapter when the display is off" in Battery > Options.

Can I wake my Mac over Tailscale?

Not with Tailscale alone. Its blog wakes a device through an always-on machine on the same local network that sends the Wake-on-LAN packet, and the device must be set up for Wake-on-LAN. Keep the Mac awake instead: with the lid closed, the first choice is a Keep Mac Awake session started before you leave.

Why does Tailscale disconnect after my Mac wakes from sleep?

Update the app first: Tailscale v1.98.8 (June 29, 2026) fixed "connectivity disruptions when the operating system wakes from sleep" (Tailscale changelog). Then check that you are logged in to the Mac and that its key has not expired.

Does Keep Mac Awake keep Tailscale connected?

No. It keeps the Mac awake for a session you start, with the lid closed too. It does not keep Tailscale, Wi-Fi or any other connection up, does not wake a sleeping Mac, and is not affiliated with Tailscale.

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