01
No developer tunnel setup
A stable authenticated MCP endpoint replaces the current need to configure and supervise a private tunnel client yourself.
TetherBound Cloud — validation
The easy path to the same hard boundary.
We are exploring a hosted edition for people who want controlled AI access to private infrastructure without assembling MCP tunnels, runtime credentials, connector lifecycle, and team policy by hand. The self-hosted Community product remains independently usable.
Proposed architecture
Cloud outside. Trust boundary inside.
The customer Edge keeps its Tailscale identity and final policy decision in the customer environment. Cloud routes requests through an already connected Edge; it does not join or directly dial the customer's tailnet.
AI client
ChatGPT / Codex
Authenticates to the hosted MCP endpoint.
→
TetherBound Cloud
Identity · routing · audit
Checks user/workspace policy and routes requests through an already connected Edge.
→
Customer controlled
TetherBound Edge + Tailscale
Edge holds tailnet state, enforces local policy, and reaches admitted hosts over the customer's private network.
What Cloud should remove
Less plumbing. Not fewer controls.
02
Managed connector lifecycle
Pair an Edge connector, see its health, rotate credentials, and manage upgrades without losing its customer-side policy boundary.
03
Team governance
Map users to hosts and access modes, retain audit metadata, and separate broad Operator delegation from narrower capabilities.
Proposed Cloud principles
- Your Edge remains authoritative. Hosted policy can narrow what a connector allows, not grant something its local policy denies.
- Tailscale identity stays at the Edge. Tailnet enrollment and persistent node state remain customer-side rather than moving into TetherBound Cloud.
- No direct inbound Cloud path into the tailnet. Edge opens an outbound authenticated session to the hosted relay.
- Raw host output is not retained by default. Results are streamed while audit records retain operational metadata.
- Open edge. Edge, Agent, protocol, local policy, and platform adapters remain inspectable and self-hostable.
- Community stays independent. Cloud is optional convenience, not a license gate for the self-hosted product.
Why keep Tailscale underneath Cloud?
The hosted product is not intended to become another general-purpose private network. Tailscale continues to provide private connectivity and machine identity; TetherBound Cloud adds AI-user identity, routing, governance, and audit while the customer Edge performs the final local authorization decision.
Who we want to test with
People operating real private fleets: homelabs, VPSs, self-hosted services, remote development machines, agency/client environments, GPU boxes, or small production infrastructure. Mixed Linux/Windows/macOS fleets are especially useful.
Help us test the hosted layer.
Community is already public and self-hosted. Tell us what plumbing or team controls would make an optional hosted layer valuable. Please do not include passwords, private keys, private IP addresses, customer data, logs, or other secrets.