lwbt / glinet-tailscale-updater

This script updates the Tailscale installation on GL.iNet routers.

Tailscale Update Script for GL.iNet Routers

This script is designed to update Tailscale on GL.iNet routers.

It was created by Admon for the GL.iNet community and tested on the MT-6000 (Flint2) with firmware 4.6.0.

Requirements

• GL.iNet router with firmware 4.x
• Supported architecture: arm64, armv7, mips
• Free space: at least 15 MB
• xz installed if you want to use UPX compression, if it's not installed, the script will install it for you

Arguments

The update-tailscale.sh script supports the following arguments:

• --ignore-free-space: Ignores the free space check. Useful for devices with low free space. Use with caution!

• --force: Skips all confirmation prompts and makes the install permanent. Useful for unattended installations. Use with caution!

• --restore: Restores the original files (/usr/sbin/tailscaled and /usr/sbin/tailscale) from the firmware. Does not restore configuration files and may lead to a broken installation. Use with caution!

• --no-upx: Skips the UPX compression. The tailscale binaries will be larger but the update will be faster.

• --no-download: Skips the download of the tailscale binaries. Useful if you have already downloaded the binaries and want to use them. Store the archive as /tmp/tailscale.tar.gz.

• --no-tiny: Won't use the tiny version of the tailscale binaries. Useful if you want to use the full version of the tailscale binaries. The tiny version is recommended for GL.iNet routers.

• --help: Displays the help message with information about the available arguments.

Quick start

You can run it without cloning the repository by using the following command:

wget -O update-tailscale.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Admonstrator/glinet-tailscale-updater/main/update-tailscale.sh && sh update-tailscale.sh

Please do not run this script as a cron job! It is recommended to run it manually!

Force update

By using the --force option, the script will skip all confirmation prompts. It will make the install permanent. This is useful for unattended installations. In combination with --ignore-free-space, it will also skip the free space check. Please use with caution!

Running on devices with low free space

You can use --ignore-free-space to ignore the free space check. This is useful for devices with low free space. Please use with caution!

Tailscale stateful filtering

The script will add the --stateful-filtering=false option to the gl_tailscale script. This is necessary for the tailscaled service to work correctly on GL.iNet routers, if exit nodes are used. The modification is done automatically and you don't have to do anything. It will be permanent and will survive a firmware upgrade.

Tiny-Tailscale

By default, the script will use the tiny version of the tailscale binaries. They are way smaller and will save plenty of space on your device. If you want to use the full version of the tailscale binaries, you can use the --no-tiny option. There are no other differences between the tiny and the full version of the tailscale binaries. UPX compression will be skipped while using the tiny version.

UPX compression

The script uses UPX to compress the tailscale binaries. You will be asked if you want to use UPX compression. It is recommended to use UPX compression, as it will reduce the size of the tailscale binaries. If you choose not to use UPX compression, the script will still work, but the tailscale binaries will be larger. UPX compression will be skipped while using the tiny version of the tailscale binaries.

Restoring the original files

You can use --restore to restore the original files. This will replace the /usr/sbin/tailscaled and /usr/sbin/tailscale files with the original files coming from the firmware. It will not restore your configuration files and might lead to a broken installation. Please use with caution!

Feedback

Feel free to provide feedback in the GL.iNet forum.

Disclaimer

This script is provided as is and without any warranty. Use it at your own risk.

It may break your router, your computer, your network or anything else. It may even burn down your house.

You have been warned!

Contributers

Thanks to lwbt for the UPX compression & the tiny-tailscale feature!

Thanks to Aubermean for the clearification of the --stateful-filtering=false (#1) option!