Synology MCP

Synology + AI - for ChatGPT, Claude, GitHub Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Gemini, and any agent that speaks MCP

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

[Synology demo - animated preview]

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

Also from Servosity. Backup & DR is Servosity's own field - the first-party Servosity connector brings this same fleet-wide, local-mirror approach (fleet attention, stale backups, restores, QBR reporting) to Servosity Backup and DR.

Comparing backup vendors? One of our MSP partners told us, "My guys now spend a tenth of the time on backups." Fixing is included in every Servosity co-managed backup plan, and our engineers tell you what they did. See how co-managed backup works

Every client NAS's Active Backup for Business jobs and storage health, mirrored into one local SQLite database and checked with one command. Works with the AI you already use - ChatGPT (Plus/Pro+), Claude Desktop, Codex, Claude Code, Claude Cowork, and GitHub Copilot - plus Microsoft 365 Copilot / Copilot Studio and Google Gemini via the remote path. Free, open source, runs on your laptop. Built for MSP owners. No code required.

Works with your agent

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

For ChatGPT, run synology-mcp --transport http with SYNOLOGY_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN set, on an HTTPS host; every request sends that token. See mcp-install.md.

Also for the Microsoft and Google stacks

Big install base, but an honest heads-up: these are the remote / enterprise path, not the local binary you just installed.

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

Download Synology MCP (.mcpb) - then open Claude Desktop > Settings > Extensions and select the file. One click, no JSON, no shell. (Browse every Synology 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 synology@msp-skills

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

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

Install the Synology 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/synology/install.sh). If it uses Windows PowerShell, run iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/synology/install.ps1 | iex. Then authenticate per the README and run synology-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/synology/install.ps1 | iex

macOS / Linux:

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

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

Verify:

synology-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/synology/install.sh)

Windows (PowerShell):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/synology/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 synology@msp-skills.

Add to Claude Desktop, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, 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 remote Microsoft 365 Copilot / Copilot Studio path. 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/synology --force

Inside a Hermes chat session:

/skills install servosity/msp-skills/skills/synology --force

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

Install for OpenClaw

Tell your OpenClaw agent (copy this):

Install the synology skill from https://github.com/servosity/msp-skills/tree/main/skills/synology. The skill defines how its required CLI (synology-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

DSM has no API keys: the CLI logs in with a DSM account in the administrators group (Active Backup for Business management and Storage Manager calls need administrator rights; Active Backup's own Operator and Manager delegation roles are not tested with this CLI). Use a dedicated account per client NAS. Passwords are read from environment variables and never written to disk. The address must be https:// (port 5001 by default): plain http://, this machine included, is refused before the password is sent.

One NAS - macOS / Linux:

export SYNOLOGY_BASE_URL=https://192.168.1.50:5001 SYNOLOGY_ACCOUNT=<account> SYNOLOGY_PASSWORD=<password>synology-cli auth login

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:SYNOLOGY_BASE_URL = "https://192.168.1.50:5001"; $env:SYNOLOGY_ACCOUNT = "<account>"; $env:SYNOLOGY_PASSWORD = "<password>"synology-cli auth login

Every client NAS - register each one, then sync them all. The login for a NAS named acme comes from SYNOLOGY_ACME_ACCOUNT and SYNOLOGY_ACME_PASSWORD (or the prefix you pass with --env-prefix). macOS / Linux:

export SYNOLOGY_ACME_ACCOUNT=<account> SYNOLOGY_ACME_PASSWORD=<password>

Windows (PowerShell):

$env:SYNOLOGY_ACME_ACCOUNT = "<account>"; $env:SYNOLOGY_ACME_PASSWORD = "<password>"

Then, in either shell:

synology-cli fleet add acme --url https://nas.acme.example:5001 --pin-certsynology-cli fleet add acme --url https://nas.acme.example:5001 --client "Acme Corp" --tls-fingerprint <sha256-checked-in-DSM> --checksynology-cli fleet syncsynology-cli fleet status

The fleet reports (fleet status, fleet health, fleet capacity, abb failures, abb stale, abb unprotected, abb device, abb trend, abb change-rate) read every registered NAS from the local mirror, and abb triage takes --nas <name>. The other live commands (abb tasks, abb backup, hyperbackup, storage, system, user, group and the rest) talk to the one NAS in SYNOLOGY_BASE_URL, so point it at a client's NAS (with that NAS's SYNOLOGY_ACCOUNT and SYNOLOGY_PASSWORD) before asking about it.

Most NAS units serve DSM's self-signed certificate. --pin-cert only displays: it prints the SHA-256 fingerprint of the certificate the address presents, where to compare it in DSM (Control Panel > Security > Certificate) and the --tls-fingerprint command that pins it, and saves nothing and sends no request (it refuses --check). Pin with --tls-fingerprint only after that value matches DSM, and the CLI then trusts exactly that certificate; for a single NAS set SYNOLOGY_TLS_FINGERPRINT instead. --check logs in once and reports whether Active Backup for Business is installed.

Two-factor accounts: add a fresh code to the first login only - SYNOLOGY_OTP_CODE for one NAS, SYNOLOGY_ACME_OTP_CODE for a fleet NAS ($env:SYNOLOGY_OTP_CODE = "123456" in PowerShell). DSM returns a trusted-device token, which the CLI keeps with that NAS's cached session and sends on later logins.

Every login first checks that the address answers as DSM's WebAPI, so an address that is not a DSM (a router, a web page) never receives the password; another Synology would, so check each address you register. synology-cli doctor checks config and paths, confirms SYNOLOGY_BASE_URL answers as a DSM WebAPI, then logs in and makes one authenticated read, so it reports the login as valid, rejected (wrong account or password) or needing a two-factor code; fleet add --check does the same for a fleet NAS.

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

rafalr100/synology-mcp is a general-purpose DSM server with 71 tools for one NAS, covering files, storage, users, packages and Hyper Backup, with power controls off unless you enable them. cmeans/mcp-synology covers File Station, system health, Download Station and Synology Photos, with one config and login per NAS. Neither covers Active Backup for Business.

This one is built for the question an MSP asks every morning: did last night's backups work, at every client? fleet sync logs in to every client NAS you register, each with its own login (two-factor accounts included), and mirrors Active Backup tasks, job results, per-device runs and a Storage Manager snapshot into one local SQLite database. fleet status, abb failures, abb stale and fleet health then answer across every client in one local query, and abb device finds a machine by host name without knowing which client's NAS protects it. A NAS that did not sync, or whose mirror is older than --max-sync-age, reads as not synced, never as OK, and the report commands exit 6 when anything needs attention, so an RMM script can alert on them.

Synology's AI Console brings AI models into Synology's own apps (drafting and summarising in MailPlus and Office, AI search in Drive), and DSM 7.4's DSM Agent is a built-in advisor for one NAS (Synology has announced backup validation for a later DSM Agent 2.0); neither answers Active Backup questions across client NAS units. Active Insight, Synology's cloud monitoring service, offers MSP delegation, storage pool status and capacity forecasts, Hyper Backup monitoring and alerts on abnormal events per host; ActiveProtect Manager centrally manages NAS units running Active Backup for Business but needs an ActiveProtect appliance as its management server. This adds the per-device Active Backup answers (failed runs, devices with no recent success, which task protects a machine) across every client NAS, in the AI agent you already use.

The pain this closes

Active Backup for Business is free with the NAS, so it backs up a lot of small-business PCs and servers. At scale, every NAS is its own island. An MSP with almost a hundred client NAS units reported (in French) that per-NAS notification emails had become unmanageable, that nothing alerted on a backup that had not run for days, and that neither Active Insight nor CMS monitored Active Backup (nas-forum.com, Nov 2021); the replies were SNMP (DSM's MIBs do not expose backup state) and SSH scripts reading Active Backup's internal SQLite files. Tom Lawrence's 2023 review said the same from the MSP side: "mostly because of their lack of central management" (Lawrence Systems forum).

• synology-cli fleet status - one row per client NAS, unknown (never OK) when a NAS did not sync, exit 6 for an RMM alert.
• synology-cli abb failures --since 24h - every failed, partial or missed task, with the first error line.
• synology-cli abb stale --older-than 72h - every machine with no good backup in three days, including ones that never had one.
• synology-cli fleet health - degraded pools, bad SMART disks and nearly full volumes, with days to full.
• synology-cli abb triage "Office PCs" --nas acme - why one task failed: the failed run's detail lines and the log from that window.

See pain-point.md for the longer narrative.

Frequently asked questions

Does this work with ChatGPT?

Yes, on Plus, Pro, Team, Business, Enterprise, and Education plans (Free tier does not yet expose Developer Mode). ChatGPT connects to remote MCP servers over HTTPS, not local stdio binaries. The Synology MCP server runs locally over stdio by default. Its HTTP mode (synology-mcp --transport http) serves http://127.0.0.1:7777/mcp, refuses to start until SYNOLOGY_MCP_HTTP_TOKEN is set, requires Authorization: Bearer <token> on every request, and needs --tls-cert/--tls-key for any other address. Step-by-step in mcp-install.md.

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 Synology credentials once.

Is my Synology 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.

How do I check 40 client NAS units, not just one?

Register each one with synology-cli fleet add <name> --url https://<nas>:5001 --client "<Client>" --tls-fingerprint <sha256> --check, using the certificate fingerprint you checked in DSM (--pin-cert displays the one the NAS presents, to compare). Its login comes from SYNOLOGY_<NAME>_ACCOUNT and SYNOLOGY_<NAME>_PASSWORD (or the prefix you pass with --env-prefix), so the registry holds no password. synology-cli fleet sync then logs in to every NAS, four at a time by default, and synology-cli fleet list shows which credential env vars are set for each. One unreachable NAS is recorded and does not stop the others; fleet sync exits 5 when any NAS failed.

Our NAS accounts use two-factor sign-in. Does that work?

Yes. Run the first login with a fresh code in SYNOLOGY_OTP_CODE (one NAS, synology-cli auth login) or SYNOLOGY_<NAME>_OTP_CODE (a fleet NAS, fleet add --check or fleet sync --nas <name>). DSM returns a trusted-device token, which the CLI keeps with that NAS's cached session (owner-only on macOS and Linux) and sends on later logins, so the code is not needed again. Then unset the code: while it is set the CLI holds it as a credential, and any answer containing that number is withheld.

My NAS uses DSM's self-signed certificate. Will it connect?

Yes, without turning verification off. fleet add --tls-fingerprint <sha256> pins the NAS certificate's SHA-256 fingerprint and trusts exactly that certificate afterwards (fleet add --pin-cert only displays the fingerprint the NAS presents, to compare with DSM's Control Panel > Security > Certificate before you pin it); for a single NAS set SYNOLOGY_TLS_FINGERPRINT. SYNOLOGY_SKIP_TLS_VERIFY=1 trusts any certificate and is only for a network you control. When a NAS renews its certificate, calls to it fail with "the NAS certificate does not match the pinned SHA-256 fingerprint": check the new fingerprint in DSM (Control Panel > Security > Certificate), then re-pin with that value: synology-cli fleet add <name> --tls-fingerprint <sha256> (it keeps the address and history) or update SYNOLOGY_TLS_FINGERPRINT. A pin mismatch is also what an interception looks like, so do not re-pin without that check.

Can it change my clients' NAS units?

Three commands act on a NAS: abb backup starts a backup, abb cancel cancels a running one, and session logout ends the CLI's own DSM session. In a terminal each sends immediately unless you add --dry-run. Over MCP, abb_backup, abb_cancel and session_logout return a preview and send nothing until the agent calls them again with "confirm": true. Everything else reads. Set SYNOLOGY_MCP_READ_ONLY=1 and the MCP server drops every command that is not read-only.

Does it cover Hyper Backup and Synology C2?

Hyper Backup, the NAS's own backup to another NAS, USB or cloud, is covered live for the NAS in SYNOLOGY_BASE_URL: synology-cli hyperbackup tasks and synology-cli hyperbackup task-status. The fleet mirror and reports cover Active Backup for Business and storage health only.

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

No command deletes, reconfigures, restores or reboots anything on a NAS.

The strongest controls are the DSM account you give each NAS - the CLI can only do what that account may do - and SYNOLOGY_MCP_READ_ONLY=1 for an agent that should only read. Full details, including how to lock it down, are in governance.md.

Status

Beta, awaiting live verification. The command surface is built from Synology's public DSM WebAPI documentation and community-documented Active Backup for Business calls (Synology publishes no Active Backup API specification), and the fleet reports are covered by tests against simulated DSM responses, but no MSP has yet run it against production NAS units and reported back - so nothing here is proven against a real NAS. If you run it against your own, the it-works form is how that becomes a badge. MSPs put connectors like this through their paces 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: 2026-10-28.