We give a criterion for separability of subgroups of certain outer automorphism groups. This answers questions of Hagen and Sisto, by strengthening and generalizing a result of theirs on mapping class groups.

We initiate the study of outer automorphism groups of special groups $G$, in the Haglund–Wise sense. We show that $\operatorname {Out}(G)$ is infinite if and only if $G$ splits over a co-abelian subgroup of a centraliser and there exists an infinite-order ‘generalised Dehn twist’. Similarly, the coarse-median preserving subgroup $\operatorname {Out}_{\rm cmp}(G)$ is infinite if and only if $G$ splits over an actual centraliser and there exists an infinite-order coarse-median-preserving generalised Dehn twist. The proof is based on constructing and analysing non-small, stable $G$-actions on $\mathbb {R}$-trees whose arc-stabilisers are centralisers or closely related subgroups. Interestingly, tripod-stabilisers can be arbitrary centralisers, and thus are large subgroups of $G$. As a result of independent interest, we determine when generalised Dehn twists associated to splittings of $G$ preserve the coarse median structure.