Storage Modes

Tailscale binaries can be stored in two modes, chosen during installation.

Comparison

Mode	Location	Pros	Cons
Persistent	/opt/tailscale	Fast boot, works offline	Uses disk space
RAM	/tmp/tailscale	Saves disk space	Re-downloads on every boot

Persistent Mode

Binaries are stored in /opt/tailscale and survive reboots. This is the recommended mode for routers with sufficient flash storage.

/opt/tailscale/
├── tailscale       # CLI tool
└── tailscaled      # Daemon

RAM Mode

Binaries are stored in /tmp/tailscale (tmpfs) and are re-downloaded on every boot via the init script. This mode is ideal for routers with very limited flash storage.

WARNING

RAM mode requires an internet connection at boot time. If the network is unavailable, the service will retry up to 10 times at 30-second intervals (5 minutes total).

Switching Modes

Change the storage mode via UCI:

uci set tailscale.settings.storage_mode='ram'
uci set tailscale.settings.bin_dir='/tmp/tailscale'
uci commit tailscale

Or use the interactive menu to reinstall with a different mode.