UniFi Protect MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that exposes UniFi Protect's Integration REST API as tools for Claude Code and other MCP clients. Provides 33 tools for managing cameras, lights, sensors, chimes, viewers, live views, and NVR status.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20+
• A UniFi Protect system with the Integration API enabled
• An API key generated from your UniFi Protect console

Setup

Quick start (npx)

Add to Claude Code with a single command — no clone or build needed:

claude mcp add-json unifi-protect '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","@owine/unifi-protect-mcp@latest"],"env":{"UNIFI_PROTECT_HOST":"192.168.1.1","UNIFI_PROTECT_API_KEY":"your-api-key","UNIFI_PROTECT_VERIFY_SSL":"false"}}' -s user

Use -s user for global availability across all projects, or -s project for the current project only.

From source

If you prefer to build locally:

git clone https://github.com/owine/unifi-protect-mcp.git
cd unifi-protect-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Then add to Claude Code:

claude mcp add-json unifi-protect '{"command":"node","args":["/path/to/unifi-protect-mcp/dist/index.js"],"env":{"UNIFI_PROTECT_HOST":"192.168.1.1","UNIFI_PROTECT_API_KEY":"your-api-key","UNIFI_PROTECT_VERIFY_SSL":"false"}}' -s user

Environment Variables

Variable	Required	Default	Description
UNIFI_PROTECT_HOST	Yes	—	IP or hostname of your UniFi Protect console
UNIFI_PROTECT_API_KEY	Yes	—	API key from Protect integration settings
UNIFI_PROTECT_VERIFY_SSL	No	true	Set to false to skip TLS certificate verification (needed for self-signed certs)
UNIFI_PROTECT_READ_ONLY	No	true	Set to false to enable write/mutating tools (default is monitoring-only mode)

Manual Configuration

Alternatively, add to your ~/.claude.json under the top-level "mcpServers" key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "unifi-protect": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@owine/unifi-protect-mcp@latest"],
      "env": {
        "UNIFI_PROTECT_HOST": "192.168.1.1",
        "UNIFI_PROTECT_API_KEY": "your-api-key",
        "UNIFI_PROTECT_VERIFY_SSL": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

Safety Features

This server provides layered safety controls for responsible operation:

• Tool annotations — Every tool declares readOnlyHint and destructiveHint so MCP clients (like Claude Code) can make informed confirmation decisions
• Read-only mode — Enabled by default. Only read operations (list, get, snapshot) are registered. Set UNIFI_PROTECT_READ_ONLY=false to enable write/mutating tools
• Confirmation parameter — The most dangerous tools (protect_disable_mic, protect_trigger_alarm_webhook) require an explicit confirm: true parameter that must be present for the call to succeed
• Dry-run support — All write tools (except those with confirm) accept an optional dryRun: true parameter that returns a preview of what would happen without making any changes

Tools (33 total)

System (2)

Tool	Description
protect_get_info	Get system information and version details
protect_list_nvrs	List all NVR devices

Cameras (12)

Tool	Description
protect_list_cameras	List all cameras
protect_get_camera	Get camera details by ID
protect_update_camera	Update camera settings
protect_get_snapshot	Get a JPEG snapshot (returns image)
protect_create_rtsp_stream	Create an RTSPS stream session
protect_get_rtsp_streams	Get active RTSPS stream sessions
protect_delete_rtsp_stream	Stop and delete an active RTSPS stream
protect_create_talkback	Create a talkback (two-way audio) session
protect_disable_mic	IRREVERSIBLE: Permanently disable camera microphone
protect_start_ptz_patrol	Start PTZ patrol at a given slot
protect_stop_ptz_patrol	Stop PTZ patrol
protect_goto_ptz_preset	Move PTZ to a preset position

Lights (3)

Tool	Description
protect_list_lights	List all lights
protect_get_light	Get light details by ID
protect_update_light	Update light settings

Sensors (3)

Tool	Description
protect_list_sensors	List all sensors
protect_get_sensor	Get sensor details by ID
protect_update_sensor	Update sensor settings

Chimes (3)

Tool	Description
protect_list_chimes	List all chimes
protect_get_chime	Get chime details by ID
protect_update_chime	Update chime settings

Viewers (3)

Tool	Description
protect_list_viewers	List all viewers
protect_get_viewer	Get viewer details by ID
protect_update_viewer	Update viewer settings

Live Views (4)

Tool	Description
protect_list_liveviews	List all live views
protect_get_liveview	Get live view details by ID
protect_create_liveview	Create a new live view
protect_update_liveview	Update a live view

Alarm & Files (3)

Tool	Description
protect_trigger_alarm_webhook	Trigger an alarm webhook (fires external alarm action)
protect_list_files	List files by type
protect_upload_file	Upload a file (base64-encoded)

Development

npm run build        # Compile TypeScript
npm start            # Run the server
npm run typecheck    # Type-check without emitting
npm run lint         # ESLint
npm test             # Run all tests (vitest)

Commit conventions

This project uses conventional commits and release-please for automated releases:

• feat: ... — new feature (minor version bump)
• fix: ... — bug fix (patch version bump)
• feat!: ... or BREAKING CHANGE: footer — breaking change (major version bump)
• chore:, docs:, ci:, etc. — no version bump

On push to main, release-please opens a Release PR that bumps the version and updates CHANGELOG.md. Merging that PR publishes to npm automatically.

To override the version number, add Release-As: x.x.x in the commit body:

git commit --allow-empty -m "chore: release 2.0.0" -m "Release-As: 2.0.0"

License

MIT