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