Tailcat – Like netcat, but over Tailscale’s data plane

Tailcat is an open-source tool that functions like netcat but uses Tailscale's data plane for encrypted point-to-point tunnels, without requiring Tailscale's control plane or a user account. It establishes WireGuard®-encrypted connections via DERP relays and NAT traversal, allowing stdin/stdout piping or local port forwarding between machines. The tool operates entirely in userspace, requires no root/admin access, and can use free rate-limited relays or self-hosted ones.