N-able N-central MCP

N-able N-central + AI - for Claude, the ChatGPT desktop app, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, and any agent that speaks MCP

Unofficial. Community-built Claude Code Skill and MCP server for the N-able N-central API. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by N-able, Inc.

[N-able N-central demo - animated preview]

_{▶ Watch the 30-second demo - demo data is simulated; every command shown exists in the real CLI.}

Every N-central REST endpoint, plus an offline SQLite mirror of your whole org tree, cross-tenant search, issue-triage rollups, and a JWT-expiry guardian no other N-central tool has. Works with the AI you already use - ChatGPT (desktop app), Claude Desktop, Codex, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and GitHub Copilot - plus Gemini CLI. Free, open source, runs on your laptop. Built for MSP owners. No code required.

Works with your agent

Security note (until this connector is reprinted). Do not put this connector behind the supergateway bridge or any other stdio-to-HTTP bridge, not even on localhost. The bridge adds no password, so anyone who can reach its port can use the MCP tools with your credentials. Use the default stdio transport. If you set up a bridge or a tunnel for a remote agent, shut it down. A fix is on the way.

The six agents MSP owners actually use (self-serve, works today):

The ChatGPT desktop app runs n-central-mcp locally and shares MCP configuration with Codex (OpenAI). ChatGPT on the web needs a remote (HTTP) server. This connector speaks stdio only, and the bridge it would need is paused until it is reprinted (see the security note in mcp-install.md), so msp-skills does not support it yet. If your team works there, a hosted gateway is the better pick; check that your AI app is on the gateway's setup list.

Also for the Microsoft and Google stacks

Big install base, but an honest heads-up: Gemini CLI runs the local binary you just installed, while Microsoft 365 Copilot and the Gemini app need a remote server, which msp-skills does not support yet.

Skill-native agents (also covered): Hermes and OpenClaw read this skill's SKILL.md directly and speak MCP - see their install sections below. Also works with Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Continue.dev, and Zed via MCP. Full per-tool wire-up: docs/which-agent.md.

Run more than one agent? Install across all 51+ supported agents in one command: npx skills add Servosity/msp-skills@latest (requires Node.js, then run the per-skill installer for the CLI/MCP binaries). See docs/which-agent.md.

Install in 60 seconds

Fastest for Claude Desktop - one-click .mcpb

Claude Desktop bundle: the .mcpb launches on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows x64 and Linux x64. Every tool shells out to the companion n-central-cli. Releases cut from 2026-09-18 on ship that CLI inside the bundle; older bundles contain only the MCP server, so if yours lacks the companion, run the Path A or Path B installer below first (or set N_CENTRAL_CLI_PATH to an existing binary). Details: #331.

Download N-able N-central MCP (.mcpb) - then open Claude Desktop > Settings > Extensions and select the file. One click, no JSON, no shell. (Browse every N-able N-central release on the releases page.)

Prefer the Claude Code plugin? Add the marketplace once, then install - works immediately, no directory listing required:

/plugin marketplace add Servosity/msp-skills/plugin install n-central@msp-skills

Path A - paste one prompt into your AI agent (recommended)

Copy this into Claude Code, Codex CLI, or Claude Cowork:

Install the N-able N-central Skill and MCP server from Servosity/msp-skills in this agent workspace. If this workspace uses a POSIX shell (macOS, Linux, WSL, or Bash), run bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/n-central/install.sh). If it uses Windows PowerShell, run iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/n-central/install.ps1 | iex. Then authenticate per the README and run n-central-cli --help to explore.

The same prompt works in any agent that can run shell.

Path B - run the installer yourself

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/n-central/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/n-central/install.sh)

The installer drops both n-central-cli (the CLI) and n-central-mcp (the MCP server) into your user bin path. Claude Code, Codex, and Cowork discover the Skill via SKILL.md in this directory.

Verify:

n-central-cli --version

Upgrade to the latest version

The installer always fetches the current release - re-run it to upgrade:

macOS / Linux:

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/n-central/install.sh)

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/n-central/install.ps1 | iex

Claude Desktop .mcpb users: download the latest .mcpb (top of this section) and re-select it in Settings > Extensions. Claude Code plugin users: /plugin update n-central@msp-skills.

Add to Claude Desktop, the ChatGPT desktop app, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, or another MCP client

After the installer runs, see mcp-install.md and docs/which-agent.md for the per-agent wire-up - one section per agent, including the GitHub Copilot servers key and the ChatGPT desktop app. Claude Desktop's Settings > Extensions panel is the simplest path; the MCP config block (for users who prefer editing JSON) is documented in mcp-install.md.

Install for Hermes

From the Hermes CLI:

hermes skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/n-central --force

Inside a Hermes chat session:

/skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/n-central --force

Hermes speaks MCP natively, so it can also use the n-central-mcp server directly - same install path, same env vars.

Install for OpenClaw

Tell your OpenClaw agent (copy this):

Install the n-central skill from https://github.com/servosity/msp-skills/tree/main/skills/n-central. The skill defines how its required CLI (n-central-cli) can be installed via the openclaw: frontmatter block.

OpenClaw isn't generally available yet; the frontmatter wiring is pre-shipped and will activate the moment OpenClaw launches.

Authenticate

Set the credentials the CLI needs (from your N-able N-central portal):

NCENTRAL_JWT=<value> n-central-cli doctor

doctor confirms the credentials work before you run anything that touches data. It exits 0 even when the credential is rejected, so scripts should add --fail-on error.

What this skill does

Full command reference: guide.md. For the AI-agent operating contract (--agent, --dry-run, when to confirm before mutating), see AGENTS.md.

What makes this different

Most N-able N-central integrations and MCP servers proxy each question into a live API call. That's fine for one record. It dies at scale, when you're asking "where is this device across our three N-central servers" or "what's red right now across every customer" - org-tree pagination, per-endpoint concurrency caps (N-able documents 429s beyond 3-50 concurrent calls), and a JWT that silently dies on password rotation.

This skill syncs the org tree into a local SQLite mirror with full-text search. Compound commands like whereis (device name fragment to full server > service org > customer > site path), fanout (one query unioned across every server's mirror), and triage (active issues grouped by customer, device, or monitor and ranked by severity) join across the org tree - work a stateless API wrapper can't do. And guardian turns the silent JWT failure mode into a CI-wireable warning.

The pain this closes

N-able's own REST API documentation admits the two traps every N-central integrator hits: per-endpoint concurrency caps (429 beyond 3-50 concurrent calls, per the official known-issues page) and error messages that arrive inside a 200 OK response. The community-maintained NC-API-Documentation project on GitHub documents the third: the API user's password expiry - 90 days by default - silently invalidates the JWT, and the integration just stops.

Meanwhile the daily questions stay manual: the morning NOC sweep is a per-customer console walk, "where is that machine" means knowing its customer and site already, and a multi-server MSP repeats all of it in each console.

• n-central-cli triage --by customer - the NOC sweep as one command, ranked by severity.
• n-central-cli whereis EXCHANGE01 - full org path from the local mirror, offline.
• n-central-cli fanout "acme" - one query across every server's mirror, each match tagged with its server.
• n-central-cli guardian --password-set 2026-03-01 - validates the token, warns 14 days before password expiry kills the JWT, and catches the 200-OK-with-error-body case. Exits non-zero so CI can gate on it.
• n-central-cli maint coverage --before 2026-06-15 - devices with no maintenance window before the patch wave, so nothing reboots in business hours.

See pain-point.md for the longer narrative.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with ChatGPT?

Yes, in the ChatGPT desktop app. It runs MCP servers locally (STDIO), the way n-central-mcp runs, and shares MCP configuration with Codex (OpenAI): add n-central-mcp under Settings > MCP servers as a STDIO server, or add it once to Codex's ~/.codex/config.toml. ChatGPT on the web is not supported by msp-skills yet: it needs a remote (HTTP) server, this connector speaks stdio only, and the bridge it would need is paused until it is reprinted; the security note in mcp-install.md explains why. If your team works there, a hosted gateway is the better pick; check that your AI app is on the gateway's setup list.

Does this work with Codex, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, Copilot, or Gemini?

Yes - all of them speak MCP. Cross-tool install commands are in the matrix above and the deep-dive in docs/which-agent.md.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. The recommended install is to paste one sentence into Claude Code or Codex - your agent reads SKILL.md and does the install. The fallback is a one-line installer per OS (bash or PowerShell). Neither path requires writing code. You'll enter your N-able N-central credentials once.

Is my N-able N-central data safe?

Your data stays on your machine. The CLI and MCP server are local binaries. The SQLite mirror sits in a directory under your user account. The AI agent only sees what the CLI returns - typically a query result, not raw bulk data. Credentials are read from your environment or your agent's config; never bundled into this repo or transmitted anywhere by MSP Skills.

What credentials do I need?

A JSON Web Token for an API-only user: in N-central, go to Administration > User Management > Users > select the API user > API Access > Generate JSON Web Token. MFA must be off on that user, and the user's password expiry (90 days by default) silently invalidates the JWT - guardian tracks that countdown. Set NCENTRAL_JWT and N_CENTRAL_BASE_URL (e.g. https://yourmsp.ncod.n-able.com/api).

Can this make changes in N-central?

Almost everything is read-only. Two commands can change things: scheduled-tasks run executes an API-enabled Automation Policy or Script on a device, and import POSTs records from a JSONL file. --dry-run is an opt-in preview, not a default - the recommended agent policy is preview first, a human approves, then run. Keep scheduled-tasks run human-in-the-loop.

We run more than one N-central server - does this handle that?

Yes. Each server syncs to its own local mirror, and fanout unions them: one query returns matches across every server's mirror, each row tagged with the server it came from.

Will this hit N-central API rate limits?

N-able documents per-endpoint concurrency caps - 429 responses beyond roughly 3 to 50 concurrent calls depending on the endpoint. The CLI ships a --rate-limit throttle, and the heaviest questions (whereis, fanout, search) run against the local mirror with zero API calls.

Does this work with N-able N-sight?

No. This skill targets the N-central REST API specifically. N-sight is a separate N-able product with a separate API.

What does it cost?

Free. Apache-2.0 licensed. You pay only for whichever AI agent you use (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, etc.), and that's billed by your AI provider, not by us.

Safety model

The strongest control is the scope you grant the N-able N-central credentials - the CLI can only do what the credentials are permitted to do. Full details, including how to lock it down, are in governance.md.

Status

Beta. Validated against the N-able N-central API surface and being validated with MSPs running it live against their own production tenant in our weekly Build Sessions. RSVP at compoundingteams.com/build-sessions.

Standards. Conforms to the open Agent Skills spec (Anthropic, Dec 2025; 40+ agents). MCP-compatible - works with any MCP-capable agent including Hermes. OpenClaw-ready (frontmatter pre-wired, awaiting OpenClaw launch).

Maintained by Servosity. Apache-2.0 licensed. Built with CLI Printing Press. Last updated: 2026-06-05.