headscalevsThe-One-File
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| headscale | The-One-File | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 | 52/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #18 of 34 in Network Management |
| GitHub stars | 45 150 | 548 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 043 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 10 |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 | TOFV-2.0 · 7 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Other |
| Main language | Go | HTML |
Which one should you pick?
headscale scores 82/100 against 52/100 for The-One-File, so it is the safer default.
The-One-File ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.
If you want the quickest setup, The-One-File is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.
headscale is growing faster right now (+1 043 stars in 30 days).
headscale details →The-One-File details →