tailscale / tailscale/tailscale

Online "Run Unattended" documentation contradicts Windows desktop GUI information

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#14,826 2 comments 1 reaction 0 assignees View on GitHub
bug OS-windows
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Description

### What is the issue?

The [documentation provided on the official Tailscale website](https://tailscale.com/kb/1088/run-unattended#:~:text=On%20Windows%2C%20you%20can%20solve%20this%20by%20using%20%22Run%20Unattended%22%20mode.%20This%20configures%20Tailscale%20to%20run%20as%20the%20system%20instead%20of%20the%20currently%20logged%20in%20user.) 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
![Image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d5f43121-db2f-4c83-bbb5-7bcc61b5a69f)

### 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

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Assessment

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