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clawsmith.com/idea/tailscale-magicdns-custom-records-proxy
IdeaCompetitivetailscalemagicdnsdnsLive

A CLI proxy that serves custom DNS records into a Tailscale MagicDNS tailnet

Tailscale's MagicDNS auto-registers hostnames for every device on a tailnet but has no mechanism to inject custom A, AAAA, CNAME, or SRV records. Users who need to resolve internal aliases (e.g. db.internal, api.corp, load-balanced VIPs) across all tailnet nodes today must stand up a full CoreDNS or BIND server and point Tailscale's split-DNS at it -- significant ops overhead for what is fundamentally a small config problem. This CLI sidecar runs as a lightweight local DNS resolver, reads a simple YAML/TOML record file, registers itself as a split-DNS nameserver for a user-chosen suffix via the Tailscale Local API, and answers custom record queries while forwarding everything else upstream. No full DNS server required. One binary, one config file.

Demand Breakdown

GitHub
1,239

Gap Assessment

CompetitiveMultiple tools exist but differentiation opportunities remain

4 tools exist (Headscale custom DNS records, CoreDNS + coredns-tailscale plugin, NextDNS rewrites, tsdproxy) but gaps remain: Requires replacing Tailscale's entire control plane with headscale; incompatible with official Tailscale accounts; no CNAME/SRV support; Requires deploying and operating a full CoreDNS instance; no GUI; no automated split-DNS registration; purely community/unmaintained.

Features8 agent-ready prompts

Record file watcher with hot reload
Embedded DNS resolver with Tailscale Local API split-DNS registration
Multi-node propagation via tailnet-accessible listener
CLI management commands for live record inspection
Conflict detection and duplicate record warnings
Systemd and launchd service installation helper
Structured logging and Prometheus metrics endpoint
Zero-config Docker and Kubernetes sidecar mode

Competitive LandscapeFREE

ProductDoesMissing
Headscale custom DNS recordsSupports custom A/AAAA records natively in config.yaml for headscale usersRequires replacing Tailscale's entire control plane with headscale; incompatible with official Tailscale accounts; no CNAME/SRV support
CoreDNS + coredns-tailscale pluginServes a DNS zone with A/AAAA records for each Tailscale node; allows CNAME via node tagsRequires deploying and operating a full CoreDNS instance; no GUI; no automated split-DNS registration; purely community/unmaintained
NextDNS rewritesNextDNS profile rewrites let users define custom domain aliases; Tailscale can be pointed at NextDNSRequires a NextDNS subscription; rewrites live in an external SaaS dashboard not co-located with infra; no local-only private records; dependency on third-party resolver
tsdproxyCreates a Tailscale machine per Docker service for proxying trafficFocused on HTTP reverse proxy per container; does not inject DNS records into the tailnet resolver; no custom record types

Leads75BUILDER

@darshinimashar
@guidoiaquinti
@DentonGentry
@danjl1100
@bradfitz
@benedictjohannes
@nhumrich
@distantorigin
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