# Aperture: Your Team's Private AI Gateway

> Aperture is a Tailscale-native proxy that centralises AI provider access across a tailnet, removing the need to distribute API keys to individual machines.

Published: 2026-04-19
URL: https://daniliants.com/insights/aperture-your-teams-private-ai-gateway/
Tags: tailscale, ai-governance, api-keys, llm, team-tools, private-network, security

---

## Summary

Aperture is a Tailscale-native proxy layer that centralises AI provider access (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.) across a team's tailnet, eliminating the need to distribute API keys to individual machines. It is currently in alpha and free during the preview period. The pitch is frictionless governance: one gateway, one set of credentials, full visibility.

## Key Insight

- **Core problem solved:** API key sprawl, every developer having their own key creates audit, rotation, and cost-attribution headaches. Aperture pushes this to a single choke point inside the private network.
- **Tailscale-native advantage:** because traffic stays on the tailnet, there is no public endpoint to secure or firewall separately. Access control is inherited from the existing WireGuard mesh.
- **Alpha / free-tier timing:** early adopters can test without cost commitment. Worth trialling now before pricing is set, especially for teams already running Tailscale.
- **Governance angle:** centralised gateway enables usage logging, per-team quotas, and model routing rules in one place, capabilities that are otherwise scattered across provider dashboards or homegrown middleware.
- **Limitation:** content is sparse (alpha landing page); actual configuration depth, supported models, and audit log granularity are unknown until tested.