🔒 Tailscale — Remote Access Setup Guide

Real-Time Energy Monitoring & Insights
⏱ Setup time: 5–10 minutes
Remote access to Power Trace via Tailscale

Tailscale creates a private encrypted network between your devices. Once set up, your phone can reach the Power Trace dashboard from anywhere — as if both devices were on the same local network.

✔No router port forwarding required
✔No static or public IP address needed
✔No DDNS configuration
✔Works behind NAT and mobile networks
🔒All traffic is end-to-end encrypted
⚡No complex network setup
1
🌐 Create a Tailscale Account

Go to the Tailscale website and sign up:

URL: https://tailscale.com

Click Sign Up and choose a login method:

  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • Apple
  • GitHub
⚠ Remember which account you used. You must sign in with the exact same account on every device you add to your network.
2
💻 Install Tailscale on Your PC
Download: https://tailscale.com/download

Run the installer, then:

  1. Launch Tailscale from the system tray
  2. Click Log in
  3. Sign in with the same account from Step 1
✅ Within a few seconds the status should show Connected. Your PC now has a stable Tailscale IP in the 100.x.x.x range.
3
📱 Install Tailscale on Your Phone
  1. Open Google Play (or the App Store on iOS)
  2. Search for Tailscale and install it
  3. Launch the app and sign in with the same account
  4. Approve the VPN permission when prompted
✅ The status should show Connected. Your phone is now part of your private Tailscale network and can reach your PC regardless of which network either device is on.
4
⚡ Start Power Trace

Launch Power Trace on your PC the usual way. Confirm it is running locally by opening a browser and checking:

http://127.0.0.1:8000 or equivalently: http://localhost:8000
✅ If the dashboard loads locally, Power Trace is ready to be served over Tailscale.
5
🔐 Enable HTTPS

Open a Windows Command Prompt Win+R → cmd and run:

tailscale serve --bg http://127.0.0.1:8000

On first run, a Tailscale authorization page opens in your browser — click Enable.

✅ HTTPS is now configured automatically. Tailscale provisions and renews the TLS certificate — no extra steps needed.
💡 The --bg flag keeps the rule active in the background even after you close the terminal. To remove it: tailscale serve reset
6
🔍 Verify the Configuration

In Command Prompt, run:

tailscale serve status

Expected output:

https://igogosown.taila95a4e.ts.net (tailnet only) ├── / proxy http://127.0.0.1:8000
💡 Your hostname will differ from igogosown — it matches the name of your PC as shown in the Tailscale admin panel.
7
🚀 Open Power Trace Remotely

On your phone browser, open your Tailscale HTTPS address — no port number needed:

https://your-pc-name.xxxxx.ts.net
Example: https://igogosown.taila95a4e.ts.net
✅ If the Power Trace dashboard loads — remote access is fully working.
8
📲 Add to Home Screen (PWA)

Turn Power Trace into a one-tap app icon on your phone:

  1. Open the Power Trace URL in Chrome on your phone
  2. Tap ⋮ (three-dot menu) in the top-right corner
  3. Select Add to Home Screen or Install App
  4. Confirm and tap Add
✅ Power Trace now launches as a full-screen app with a single tap — no browser chrome, no address bar.
⚠ Troubleshooting — Phone Can't Open the Page

Sometimes Android keeps stale network settings after joining the Tailscale VPN. If you see one of these errors:

DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN
The phone cannot resolve the Tailscale hostname — try reconnecting:
  • Open the Tailscale app
  • Toggle the VPN switch off, then on again
  • Or fully close the app and reopen it
ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED
The connection reaches the PC but Power Trace is not running — make sure it is started and tailscale serve is active.
💡 After reconnecting, HTTPS usually starts working within a few seconds.
💻 Useful Commands
Check serve status
tailscale serve status
Disable serve
tailscale serve reset
Re-enable serve
tailscale serve --bg http://127.0.0.1:8000
List connected devices
tailscale status
✅ Quick Checklist — If Something Doesn't Work
  • ✔Power Trace is running on the PC
  • ✔Tailscale is running on the PC and shows Connected
  • ✔Tailscale is running on the phone and shows Connected
  • ✔Both devices are signed in with the same Tailscale account
  • ✔tailscale serve status shows the HTTPS address with the proxy rule