How to Connect a Synology NAS to ChatGPT

Synology NAS in ChatGPT

Short answer: turn on SFTP on the NAS, create a user that can only read the shared folder, and add the NAS to AnythingMCP as a File Search connector. AnythingMCP indexes the full text of that folder and keeps the index in sync. Then connect AnythingMCP to ChatGPT on the web. ChatGPT can find files by name and by content, read the pages it needs and give you the file itself, attached or as a temporary download link. Nothing is ever written to the NAS.

An AI assistant cannot open a NAS on its own, and one that could would have to download every file to answer one question. The index is what makes a question like "what does article NT-601 cost in the current price list?" take seconds.

What you need

• SFTP enabled in DSM (Control Panel → File Services → FTP → SFTP), or the WebDAV Server package if you prefer WebDAV.
• A DSM user with read-only access to the shared folder.
• For AnythingMCP Cloud: the NAS reachable from the internet, with the SFTP port forwarded on your router. A self-hosted AnythingMCP can reach it on the local network.
• An AnythingMCP workspace: AnythingMCP Cloud (7 days free) or your own self-hosted install.

AnythingMCP also has a Synology DSM connector for system and storage health, tasks and the file station tree. It does not read what is inside your documents; File Search does. SMB (port 445) is not reached from the Cloud: it does not belong on the internet.

Set it up

Step 1 — Set up the File Search connector

In AnythingMCP, open the Marketplace and pick Synology NAS (File Search): it opens the File Search wizard with SFTP and the settings for Synology. (Or open Connectors → New → File Search and use the Synology shortcut.)

1. Connect. Enter the address of the NAS (from outside: the address your router forwards), the port, the read-only user and its password, and the shared folder, for example /Documents.
2. Test. AnythingMCP connects, signs in and lists the folder before anything is saved, and shows a checklist (address, reachability, encryption, server identity, login, folder) with what to fix when a step fails. It also shows the server's SSH host key as a fingerprint: confirm it once, and from then on AnythingMCP refuses a different key before the password is sent, which protects you from a server that pretends to be yours.
3. Scan. Click Scan folder. AnythingMCP lists the folder without indexing it yet and shows a tree with the number of files in every subfolder, the file types and the years. Folders that look like archives (Alt, Old, Archive, Backup) are already unticked, so ChatGPT never quotes an outdated document. A bar compares your selection with your plan while you tick folders, file types or an age limit; when the selection is larger than the plan, untick more or upgrade.
4. Describe. AnythingMCP drafts the connector's description from the scan, for example "Shared folder Documents of the office: offers, invoices and contracts, PDF and Word, 2018–2026". This text tells ChatGPT what the folder contains and when to search it. If an AI model is configured on the server, the wizard can draft it with AI and says exactly what is sent (folder names, file names, the first 2,000 characters of up to 20 sample files, personal data masked); otherwise the draft is built from the folder structure. Edit it as you like.
5. Activate. Choose the tool prefix, the sync interval and the MCP servers that get the connector, and click Activate.

The first sync starts right away and runs in a separate background service: ChatGPT and your other connectors keep answering at full speed while it runs. The connector's Files tab shows its progress: files found, indexed and skipped, the last and next sync, and a Sync now button.

Step 2 — Copy the server URL

In MCP Servers, open the server you chose in the wizard and copy its URL.

Step 3 — Add the connector in ChatGPT

Your server URL: in AnythingMCP, open MCP Servers → the server this connector is on, and copy its URL (https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/…). Use it wherever this guide shows YOUR_SERVER_ID.

ChatGPT adds MCP servers as plugins on its Plugins page, on the web and on paid plans. Developer mode is no longer needed. In a Business workspace only admins and owners can add one; in Enterprise and Edu an admin can grant the Create plugins with MCPs permission.

1. Go to chatgpt.com/plugins, click Add, then Add custom MCP server.
2. Enter a name, e.g. Name: Synology NAS.
3. Under Connection, enter the Server URL https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp/YOUR_SERVER_ID and keep Authentication on OAuth.
4. Select I understand and want to continue, then Create as a plugin. When ChatGPT asks, sign in to AnythingMCP and allow access.
5. Install the new plugin from your personal plugins, then type @ in a chat and pick it.

Step 4 — Ask

Start a new chat and ask about the content of your files. ChatGPT searches the index first, opens the pages that matched and answers with the file name, the page and the file's date, so you can check the source.

What ChatGPT can do with the files

<prefix> is the tool prefix you choose in the wizard, for example pricelists. Every tool except _share_file only reads.

Supported files: text is extracted from over 100 file types: PDF (page by page); Word, Excel and PowerPoint including macro and template variants and .xlsb; OpenDocument; Outlook .msg, .eml and .mbox with the text of their attachments; .rtf, .epub, .xps; Apple Pages, Numbers and Keynote (through their PDF preview); .svg and the text of .dxf CAD drawings; CSV, Markdown, HTML, XML, JSON, YAML, calendars and contacts; and source code. Every other file is still found by name, and PDF pages and images can be shown to the AI as pictures. Scanned PDFs without a text layer are read with OCR on Enterprise.

Prompts to try in ChatGPT

• "Search the shared folder for the Kessler contract and tell me the notice period."
• "Which invoices from Nordtor are in the folder for 2025?"
• "Find the delivery note for order 4711-200 and tell me what was delivered."
• "Give me the latest price list in the Purchasing folder as a download link."

How syncing works

AnythingMCP compares the size and modification time of every file with the last run and downloads only new and changed files. Over WebDAV it uses the ETag instead. Files whose content is identical to the indexed version are recognised by their checksum (SHA-256) and not processed again. Deleted files leave the index. A file that cannot be read is retried on the next syncs and, after three failures (at once for password-protected files), stays findable by name, with the reason on the Files tab.

Syncing runs in its own background service, separate from the server that answers ChatGPT: a large first sync does not slow down your questions, and search keeps working with the last index while a sync runs.

When the folder outgrows your plan, the sync pauses before downloading anything instead of indexing only part of it: the Files tab shows how many files the folder now holds against your plan, ChatGPT keeps searching the files already indexed and is told that newer files may be missing, and you can untick folders or upgrade. A paused folder is checked again once a day and resumes by itself when it fits.

Security

• Read-only. The connector only lists and reads. It has no tool that writes, renames or deletes on the NAS.
• Your workspace only. The index is stored per workspace and every query is limited to it, by the application and again by the database (Row-Level Security).
• Credentials are stored encrypted and decrypted only in the background sync service. ChatGPT and your colleagues never see them.
• Who sees what follows your MCP roles: a role without the file tools does not see them. On Enterprise you can also allow or deny folders per role.
• File content is data. The tools tell the model never to follow instructions found inside a file.
• Read-only user. Give the DSM user read access to the one shared folder and nothing else.
• Host key pinned. The SSH host key of the NAS is checked on every connection.
• Port forwarding. Forward only the SFTP port, and only if you use AnythingMCP Cloud; restrict it to the Cloud's outgoing address where your router allows it.
• AnythingMCP Cloud connects only to servers on the public internet: a host in a private network is refused, also after a redirect. A server in your office network must be reachable from outside, or you run AnythingMCP self-hosted next to it.

Limits by plan

Self-hosted: Starter includes one File Search connector with up to 500 files, Team three connectors with 2,000 files, Enterprise has no limit and syncs down to every 5 minutes; the largest file is set by FILES_MAX_FILE_BYTES (100 MB by default). Self-hosted File Search needs a paid licence or the 30-day trial, which has the Team limits; the free Community edition has no File Search after the trial. All plans.

FAQ

Does the free ChatGPT plan work with custom MCP servers? OpenAI documents custom MCP servers for paid plans only; the Free plan is not on its list.

SFTP or WebDAV on the Synology? Either works. SFTP is enabled in Control Panel → File Services → FTP → SFTP; WebDAV needs the WebDAV Server package. The Marketplace entry opens the wizard with SFTP.

Do I have to open the NAS to the internet? For AnythingMCP Cloud, yes: forward the SFTP port. A self-hosted AnythingMCP in the same network reaches the NAS without port forwarding.

What is the difference to the Synology DSM connector? The Synology DSM connector reads the state of the NAS. The File Search connector searches the content of your documents.

Does AnythingMCP copy all of the NAS? No. AnythingMCP keeps the extracted text, not the files. A file is read again only when it changed, or when you ask for the file itself.

Is vector search used? No. Company documents are searched for exact names, codes and numbers, where keyword search with page-level results is more reliable than embeddings.

Related

• Search your company file server with AI
• Find prices in supplier price lists with AI
• Search inside Nextcloud and WebDAV files with AI
• Share files from an AI chat as download links
• Connect a Synology NAS to Claude
• Connect a Synology NAS to Gemini
• Connect a Synology NAS to Microsoft Copilot
• Connect a Synology NAS to Cursor
• Connect a Synology NAS to Muse
• Other file sources in ChatGPT: SFTP server, FTP / FTPS server, WebDAV server, S3 bucket, Nextcloud, ownCloud, QNAP NAS, Fritz!Box storage, Hetzner Storage Box, Network folder (self-hosted)