Run your own TAK server

Free, self-hosted, and your team’s positions never reach a ZYRNTOPO server.

The short version: one command installs a single program on Linux, macOS, Windows or a Raspberry Pi. No Docker and nothing else to install. ZYRNTOPO, ATAK, WinTAK and iTAK all connect to it, and your team's positions, messages and markers stay on hardware you own.

Install it

Linux, Raspberry Pi or macOS

curl -fsSL https://zyrntopo.com/tak-server.sh | sh

Windows, in PowerShell

irm https://zyrntopo.com/tak-server.ps1 | iex

It downloads the server for your system, checks its SHA-256, and sets it up: a certificate authority and server certificate, an admin account, a background service that starts at boot, and firewall rules. It then sends a test position through every port before it tells you it is ready, and prints the dashboard address, the administrator password and a quick-connect QR code for iTAK. It takes under a minute. The password also stays in admin-password.txt in the data folder until you change it.

Running it again is safe and is how you update or repair it. Users, certificates and settings are kept.

What you need

A computer that stays on: a Raspberry Pi (any model from the 2 onward), a spare laptop, a desktop or a small VPS. Linux, macOS 11 or later, or Windows 10 / 11. Administrator or sudo rights for the install.

On a VPS, check the provider firewall too. Open TCP 8089, 8090, 8443 and 8446 there as well.

Connect your devices

App	How
ZYRNTOPO, ZYRNMAPS	Team Sync ▸ TAK server ▸ Custom TAK Server, address `ws://<server>:8090`
ZYRN Workstation	The TAK Server pane, or sign in on the Server tab
ATAK, WinTAK	Dashboard ▸ Connect a device ▸ the enrollment QR code, or open `https://<server>:8446/package` on the device, sign in and open the downloaded package
iTAK	Scan the quick-connect QR code the installer prints, or the one under Connect a device, then sign in

Give each person their own user, from the dashboard (https://<server>:8446, signed in as admin) or with zyrn-tak user add NAME. zyrn-tak qr NAME prints their QR codes in the terminal, and zyrn-tak user package NAME saves a connection package to copy to a device.

Ports

Port	Used by
`8090`	ZYRNTOPO
`8089`	ATAK, WinTAK, iTAK
`8443`	Data Sync, files and missions between TAK apps
`8446`	The dashboard, package downloads and certificate enrollment

Reaching it from outside your network

On one network the printed address is all anyone needs. For a team spread out, install Tailscale on the server and the devices, then run:

Publish over Tailscale

sudo zyrn-tak setup --tailscale

It prints a wss:// address that also works from the ZYRNTOPO web app.

Running it

Command	What it does
`zyrn-tak status`	Is it running, who is connected, does a test position get through
`zyrn-tak user add NAME`	Add a person
`zyrn-tak user remove NAME`	Remove a person and revoke their certificates
`zyrn-tak user list`	List users
`zyrn-tak logs`	Show recent log lines
`zyrn-tak restart`	Restart the service
`zyrn-tak update`	Update to the current release
`zyrn-tak backup`	Back up the data folder
`zyrn-tak uninstall`	Remove it, keep the data (`--purge` deletes the data too)

On Linux and macOS put sudo in front of commands that change something. On Windows run them in an Administrator PowerShell.

Back up the data folder. It holds the certificate authority every device trusts: /var/lib/zyrn-tak on Linux, /Library/Application Support/ZYRN TAK on macOS, C:\ProgramData\ZYRN TAK on Windows.

The dashboard, linking servers, server plugins and every option are covered in the TAK server documentation, and connecting from the apps in Team Sync.