Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is Synology Manager Plus and why would I need it?

It's a Claude Code plugin for managing a Synology NAS — or several — over SSH. Instead of clicking through DSM, you use clear commands for setup, health diagnostics, SMART disks, storage, logs, DSM updates and Docker Compose, all from a Claude Code session.

What does Synology Manager Plus cost?

Nothing. It's open source under the MIT license and completely free. It runs locally in your Claude Code — there is no cloud service and no subscription fees.

Do I need the DSM Web API or an extra package on the NAS?

No. Synology Manager Plus works exclusively over SSH and uses the standard tools DSM ships with. You only need to enable the SSH service in DSM (Control Panel → Terminal & SNMP).

The first connection fails — why?

Usually one of three things: SSH is not enabled in DSM, the port is wrong, or the user has no shell access. You accept the host key once during the interactive ! ssh-copy-id step (review the fingerprint, then accept). After that, verify everything with /diag.

Why do some commands need passwordless sudo — and how do I set it up?

/smart-status, /health-summary, /dsm-update-check and all Docker commands need elevated privileges. DSM has no visudo, so you create a drop-in file: echo '<user> ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/smartctl, /usr/syno/sbin/synoupgrade, /usr/local/bin/docker' | sudo tee /etc/sudoers.d/synology-manager-plus followed by sudo chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/synology-manager-plus.

A Docker command reports "command not found" — why?

DSM installs Docker at /usr/local/bin/docker, which is not on the PATH of non-interactive SSH sessions. Synology Manager Plus therefore always invokes Docker via that absolute path — you don't have to do anything, the absolute path is hard-wired into the plugin.

/smart-status shows no or unexpected values — what now?

Try a different device type. Add smartctl_device_type: sat (or ata, nvme, scsi) to the profile context/nas/<slug>/profile.md — the default is ata. The plugin is verified against smartctl 6.5 on DSM 7.3.1.

How do I protect critical Compose stacks from being stopped accidentally?

List the project names in the profile under critical_compose_projects. /compose-down then refuses to stop those stacks unless the environment variable SM_CONFIRM_CRITICAL=yes is set.

Can I manage multiple NAS?

Yes. Use /nas-add to add more NAS, /nas-list to show them all and /nas-use <slug> to switch the active one. /health-summary --all, /smart-status --all and /nas-status --all walk the whole fleet sequentially and give a verdict based on the worst single value.

Does my NAS data (hosts, users, keys) end up in Git?

No. The real profiles, the active NAS and all snapshots under context/nas/ are git-ignored; the repository only contains an empty directory with a .gitkeep. Your topology never leaves your machine, and your inventory survives a claude plugin update.

Does the plugin install DSM updates automatically?

No. /dsm-update-check is strictly read-only and only reports the status. Installing a DSM update deliberately belongs in the DSM web UI with its safety prompts.

How do I switch the active NAS or rotate the SSH key?

Set the active NAS with /nas-use <slug>. To rotate the key, delete ~/.ssh/synology-manager-plus_<slug>_ed25519 (along with its .pub) and run /setup-ssh or /nas-add again — the commands create a new key when needed.

How does Synology Manager Plus differ from Fleet Manager?

Synology Manager Plus specializes in Synology NAS (DSM, RAID, SMART, volumes). Fleet Manager is the generic counterpart for any Linux host. Both can be used side by side.

Is this an official Synology product?

No. Synology Manager Plus is a community plugin and a fork of danielrosehill/synology-manager-plugin (credit: Daniel Rosehill), under the MIT license. It is not affiliated with Synology Inc.