The Changelog: Software Development, Open Source

From Tailnet to platform (Interview)

62 snips
Mar 11, 2026
Guest
David Carney
David Carney, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Tailscale, builds identity-aware networking and TSNet apps and leads the Aperture AI gateway project. He discusses clickless auth with TSIDP, making apps appear as tailnet nodes via TSNet, multi-tailnet isolation for safe workloads, and Aperture for private AI API key control and observability.
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INSIGHT

TSNet Turns Apps Into Network Nodes

  • TSNet is a user-space networking library that makes any Go application appear as a node on your tailnet with an IP and ACLs.
  • Apps built with TSNet inherit identity, connectivity, and policy, which Aperture uses as a TSNet app.
INSIGHT

Aperture Centralizes AI Keys And Identity

  • Aperture is a private AI gateway running as a tailnet node that centralizes API keys, logging, and identity for every model request.
  • By routing agent/model calls through Aperture, every API call is tied to a user identity and becomes auditable and controllable.
ADVICE

Route Agents Through A Central Gateway

  • To secure AI use, route coding agents through a gateway like Aperture so the gateway holds keys and attaches identity to every request.
  • This yields single-point observability, faster onboarding, and the ability to revoke or audit usage centrally.
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