Short answer

The Tailscale outbound lets Mihomo route traffic into Tailnet/Headscale scenarios and is closer to networking mesh use cases. In real use, trust the provider subscription first and then verify whether the selected client core supports this exact type.

What It Means

In Clash/Mihomo configuration, tailscale identifies the outbound type used by the node, policy or group. The same display name in a GUI can hide different transport fields, so the YAML or subscription output is more reliable than the node nickname.

Common Fields

type: tailscale
hostname
auth-key
control-url
state-dir
accept-routes
exit-node

When to Use It

You need Tailscale/Headscale access to private networks or an exit node.
The runtime can create and persist tsnet state.
Rules explicitly send relevant traffic to this outbound.

Support Checks Checks

The first connection may need login or time for node loading.
Without an exit node or accepted route coverage, public-internet access may require direct routing.
auth-key and state-dir should be managed for the deployment environment.

Minimal Shape

proxies:
- name: "tailscale-node"
  type: tailscale
  hostname: mihomo
  auth-key: tskey-auth-xxxx
  control-url: https://controlplane.tailscale.com
  state-dir: ./tailscale
  udp: true

Compatibility Notes

Client support changes with the bundled core. A maintained Mihomo-based client usually supports more modern node types than historical Clash clients, but mobile clients and iOS alternatives still vary by app and release.

If a subscription contains this type but the client filters it out, switch to a compatible client, ask the provider for a compatible subscription format, or use a converter only when you understand what fields are being changed.

Official Reference

Tailscale in Mihomo docs

Tailscale Protocol