UniFi Network MCP Server

MCP server exposing 207 UniFi Network Controller tools for AI assistants and other MCP-capable clients. Query clients, devices, firewall rules, VLANs, VPNs, Traffic Flows, stats, and more with safe-by-default permissions and preview-before-confirm for all mutations.

Use this server when an existing AI assistant or other MCP-capable client needs UniFi Network tools. Software integrating over HTTP, including automation services, code-execution runtimes, and MCP adapters, should use unifi-api-server for REST and GraphQL reads, actions, and SSE events. The calling application must sandbox generated code and enforce its resource limits.

Install

Claude Code (recommended)

The plugin installs the MCP server, an agent skill for tool discovery, and a guided setup command:

/plugin marketplace add sirkirby/unifi-mcp
/plugin install unifi-network@unifi-plugins

Then run the interactive setup to configure your controller connection:

/unifi-network:setup

This walks you through entering your controller host, credentials, and permission preferences — then writes everything to .claude/settings.local.json so it persists across sessions. Restart Claude Code after setup to connect.

Codex

Register the marketplace, then install unifi-network from Codex's /plugins UI:

codex plugin marketplace add sirkirby/unifi-mcp

After installing, ask Codex to use the UniFi Network setup skill. The setup flow registers the MCP server with codex mcp add, stores your controller environment values in Codex's MCP configuration, and prompts you to restart Codex.

PyPI / Docker

# PyPI
uvx unifi-network-mcp@latest
# or: pip install unifi-network-mcp

# Docker
docker pull ghcr.io/sirkirby/unifi-network-mcp:latest

# From source
git clone https://github.com/sirkirby/unifi-mcp.git
cd unifi-mcp && uv sync

Usage Examples

For the approved breaking MAC argument rename in the next minor release, see the MAC parameter migration guide.

Once connected, just ask your AI agent in natural language:

"Show me all clients on the Guest VLAN with their signal strength and data usage"

"Create a firewall rule that blocks IoT devices from reaching the internet between midnight and 6 AM"

"Which access points have the most client disconnections this week?"

"Audit my firewall policies — are there any redundant or conflicting rules?"

"Rename the device at 192.168.1.45 to 'Living Room TV' and show me its traffic stats"

"What changed on my network in the last 24 hours? Show me new clients and config changes."

"Show me the largest traffic flows from the last hour and summarize who talked to what."

All mutations (firewall rules, device changes, client blocking) use a preview-then-confirm flow — you see exactly what will change before anything is applied.

V2 NAT rules

unifi_list_nat_rules and unifi_get_nat_rule read V2 NAT rules. The create, update, delete, and toggle tools require Network session credentials and use V2 NAT rule IDs; port-forward and Integration API IDs are different. Public writes cover DNAT, SNAT, and MASQUERADE with IPv4, tcp_udp or all, and NONE or ADDRESS_AND_PORT filters. Creates default to enabled=false. Created rules are marked manual and non-predefined, and both values are checked on readback. Existing rules with missing or non-manual origin are not editable through these tools. SNAT rules with a translated port require source_filter.port; the controller validates port correspondence. Existing rules missing that source port must be corrected in the same update before they can be edited through these tools. Toggle takes an explicit enabled boolean, so repeating the same request is a no-op. IPv6, PPPoE, inverted/excluded matching, and other filter variants are not verified for public writes. Selector edits on a stored rule with an unverified type are refused, even when the same request changes its type to a verified one.

The MCP update preview shows a fresh before/after merge. Confirmation reads fresh state again, sends at most one full replacement, then checks persistence; delete checks fresh absence. If the controller reply or readback is uncertain, list rules before retrying. A concurrent controller edit between fetch and PUT can be overwritten because V2 NAT has no conditional replacement. These checks prove stored configuration, not packet-level enforcement. Existing Core NAT methods retain their return shapes; controller mutation exceptions now carry safe fixed guidance instead of raw response text.

For an approved packet test, use the IPv4 DNS redirect recipe. It covers a single client and synthetic destination, including same-subnet return traffic and cleanup.

Configure

Set these variables in the server's process environment. If you used /unifi-network:setup, this is already done. The server does not automatically load .env or working-directory YAML files; load a trusted env file explicitly in your launcher (Docker env_file: is supported), or select custom YAML with an absolute CONFIG_PATH. See configuration for migration examples.

# Server-specific variables (recommended)
UNIFI_NETWORK_HOST=192.168.1.1      # Controller IP or hostname
UNIFI_NETWORK_USERNAME=admin         # Local admin username
UNIFI_NETWORK_PASSWORD=your-password # Admin password
# Optional:
# UNIFI_NETWORK_API_KEY=             # UniFi API key (inventory and explicit Integration API tools)
# UNIFI_NETWORK_PORT=443             # Controller HTTPS port
# UNIFI_NETWORK_SITE=default         # UniFi site name
# UNIFI_NETWORK_VERIFY_SSL=false     # SSL certificate verification
# UNIFI_NETWORK_WEBSOCKET_ENABLED=true   # Real-time event listener feeding unifi_recent_events
# UNIFI_NETWORK_EVENT_BUFFER_SIZE=100    # Positive ring buffer capacity; invalid values prevent startup
# UNIFI_NETWORK_EVENT_BUFFER_TTL=300     # Positive lifetime in seconds; invalid values prevent startup

Fallback: Existing UNIFI_* variables (e.g., UNIFI_HOST) continue to work. The server checks for UNIFI_NETWORK_* first and falls back to UNIFI_* if the server-specific variable is not set. For single-controller setups, the shared variables are all you need.

API-key inventory and session authentication

Configure UNIFI_NETWORK_API_KEY without a username/password for device, active-client, network, and WLAN lists. The same tools select the available read path; no duplicate API-key tools are needed. When valid session credentials are also configured, the existing session path remains preferred.

On controllers accepting API keys on legacy inventory endpoints, the usual IDs and fields are preserved. This was verified on Network 10.6.106 with a UniFi OS proxy; the minimum supported firmware is not established. Other controllers can use the public Integration inventory fallback when that API is available. Public inventory has narrower fields and network coverage (for example, WAN/VPN networks may be absent). Results identify source_api=integration and expose the public UUID as integration_id, never as a legacy resource ID. Do not pass these UUIDs to legacy details/update tools. Missing legacy fields are unknown. API GraphQL projections therefore allow null for unavailable enabled, wired, and guest flags; clients must handle those nulls.

Historical clients (include_offline=true), full details, legacy mutations, and the Network websocket still require their supported legacy/session paths. API-key legacy transport is restricted to verified inventory GET requests; successful reads do not imply permission to write. Explicit Integration tools such as DPI lookup and firewall ordering retain their own API-key contracts (legacy zone-ID resolution also needs a session). Protect still requires session bootstrap, with an additional API key for public setters; Access retains its independent API-token and proxy-session paths. Discovery reports local_only, api_key_only, either, or both; these describe requirements, not proof that a configured credential has authenticated successfully.

MCP response size

For tool results that already provide structured output, adaptive is the default response mode. It classifies each request by the canonical date-based protocolVersion advertised during MCP initialization, not by the client's product name or application version. Requests advertising MCP 2025-06-18 or later receive concise content plus the full result once in structuredContent; requests advertising an earlier revision (such as 2024-11-05 or 2025-03-26), or whose revision metadata is missing or malformed, keep full compatibility JSON in content. Set UNIFI_NETWORK_MCP_CONTENT_MODE to compat to force the duplicated compatibility form, or to compact to force concise text plus full structured output outside a negotiated request. This server-specific variable overrides UNIFI_MCP_CONTENT_MODE; use compat for any client that consumes the full result only from content, regardless of its advertised revision.

The lazy-loading meta-tools (*_tool_index, *_execute, *_batch, *_batch_status, and lazy-only *_load_tools) remain content-only; they are not the pre-2025-06-18 protocol category described above. For structured inner results, *_execute and *_batch_status expose one normalized JSON payload in content rather than a nested transport pair; content-only execute results remain unchanged. Response modes do not convert these meta-tools to structuredContent.

Network also bounds two large source responses by default: unifi_get_dashboard uses summary=true, and unifi_list_rogue_aps returns a summarized page of at most 100 records. Pass summary=false to request the full selected dashboard or rogue-AP data.

Sensitive response fields

Network tools redact known secret-bearing fields by default before returning data to MCP clients. This includes WLAN passphrases, VPN key material, whole VPN config blobs, SNMP community strings, SNMPv3 passwords, and device-SSH credentials and the management key in raw/detail responses and mutation previews. Disable redaction for a trusted local administration process with UNIFI_NETWORK_REDACT_SENSITIVE_FIELDS=false or the global UNIFI_REDACT_SENSITIVE_FIELDS=false policy flag when raw values are required.

Confirmed Network/WLAN and VPN-state writes are re-read from the controller and report exact persisted_fields, unchanged_fields, dropped_fields, and coerced_fields. Already-satisfied no-op fields appear under unchanged_fields and do not make a failed write partially successful. A response with success: false and mutation_applied: true means the controller accepted the mutation but did not persist it exactly; it may be a partial write, not a rollback. Inspect partial_success and details_after_attempt before retrying or applying a compensating change.

unifi_update_vpn_server_alternate_address updates a WireGuard server's advertised address using server_id, a partial update_data object, and confirm (default false). The accepted fields are alternate_address_enabled (boolean) and alternate_address (hostname or IPv4 address, without a URI, port, or path). Enabling requires a valid address in the merged configuration. Disabling preserves the stored address unless you also supply a replacement. Null and unknown fields are rejected. Server reads expose these same names, with null for absent controller values.

This operation requires Network session credentials and the VPN_SERVERS UPDATE policy gate. MCP previews show fresh before/after values; API action previews show only submitted arguments, with effective-state validation at execution. The confirmed update fetches the full record again, preserves unrelated fields, and verifies the requested fields after writing. Full-record PUTs can still race with concurrent edits. An uncertain transport or readback outcome returns mutation_applied: null; inspect the server before trying again. Previews and results contain only the two public alternate-address fields. Other VPN server types are outside this verified write scope.

Run

# stdio transport (default — for Claude Desktop, LM Studio, etc.)
unifi-network-mcp

# Docker
docker run -i --rm \
  -e UNIFI_NETWORK_HOST=192.168.1.1 \
  -e UNIFI_NETWORK_USERNAME=admin \
  -e UNIFI_NETWORK_PASSWORD=secret \
  ghcr.io/sirkirby/unifi-network-mcp:latest

Claude Desktop

Add to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unifi": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["unifi-network-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "UNIFI_NETWORK_HOST": "192.168.1.1",
        "UNIFI_NETWORK_USERNAME": "admin",
        "UNIFI_NETWORK_PASSWORD": "your-password"
      }
    }
  }
}

Agent Skills

When installed via Claude Code, the network plugin ships three agent skills that extend Claude with specialized workflows for network management.

Network Health Check

Trigger: "check network health", "what's down", "run a health check", "network status"

Gathers a full diagnostic snapshot in a single unifi_batch call — system info, network health, device list, and active alarms — then produces a structured health report. Includes reference documents for device state codes, alarm types and severity levels, and health subsystem diagnostics (WAN → LAN → WLAN → VPN priority order).

Firewall Manager

Trigger: "block traffic", "create firewall rule", "set up IoT isolation", "manage content filtering"

Natural-language firewall management with a safe preview-then-confirm workflow. Ships with:

• Policy templates for common scenarios (references/policy-templates.yaml):

  Template	Description
  iot-isolation	Block IoT VLAN from reaching the main LAN
  guest-lockdown	Restrict guest network to internet-only
  kids-content-filter	Time-based social media and gaming block via DPI
  block-bittorrent	Block P2P/BitTorrent traffic via DPI
  work-vpn-split-tunnel	Allow corporate VPN while keeping local LAN accessible
  camera-isolation	Lock IP cameras to NVR-only communication

• Snapshot/diff workflow — Claude saves a timestamped JSON snapshot of all policies, zones, and groups before every mutation, then diffs the after-state against it so unintended changes are caught immediately

• Reference docs for firewall schema, DPI categories, and full template parameter lists

Firewall Auditor

Trigger: "audit firewall", "review firewall rules", "check for security issues", "score my firewall"

Comprehensive automated audit across 16 security benchmarks in 4 categories, producing a 0–100 score with per-finding remediation guidance. Claude dispatches the MCP tool calls and evaluates each benchmark against references/security-benchmarks.md; a small CLI (scripts/unifi-firewall-score) turns the findings into the canonical, version-stable score so audit history stays comparable.

Score thresholds:

Benchmark categories (4 × 25 points):

• Segmentation (SEG-01–04) — IoT/Guest/Management VLAN isolation, explicit inter-VLAN policies
• Egress Control (EGR-01–03) — Outbound filtering for high-risk VLANs, DNS enforcement, threat intelligence blocks
• Rule Hygiene (HYG-01–05) — Conflicts, redundant/disabled rules, stale references, naming, shadowing
• Topology (TOP-01–04) — Offline devices, firmware currency, VLAN consistency across switch uplinks, orphaned port profiles

Each finding includes the benchmark ID, severity (critical/warning/informational), a plain-language explanation, and — when automatable — the exact MCP tool call to fix it. Audit history is tracked in audit-history.json so score trends are visible over time.

Tool Improvements

Device Classification (unifi_list_devices)

unifi_list_devices now returns a device_category field that correctly classifies every adopted device:

The ap category uses the controller's is_access_point boolean flag as the authoritative signal, not just the device type prefix. This means USP Smart Power strips — which appear as uap-typed devices — are correctly excluded from the AP category.

Enriched Device Fields

Each device record now includes additional fields alongside the existing MAC, name, model, IP, firmware, uptime, and status:

Documentation

• Configuration — Full env var reference, YAML config, controller type detection
• Permissions — Permission system, category defaults, how to enable high-risk tools
• Tool Catalog — All 207 tools organized by category
• Transports — stdio, Streamable HTTP, and SSE setup
• Troubleshooting and support bundles — Reviewed support evidence, connection issues, SSL, missing tools

Development

cd apps/network
make test         # Run tests
make lint         # Lint
make format       # Format
make manifest     # Regenerate tools_manifest.json
make pre-commit   # All of the above

See the root CONTRIBUTING.md for the full monorepo workflow.

License

MIT