Skillshub routeros-fundamentals

RouterOS v7 domain knowledge for AI agents. Use when: working with MikroTik RouterOS, writing RouterOS CLI/script commands, calling RouterOS REST API, debugging why a Linux command fails on RouterOS, or when the user mentions MikroTik, RouterOS, CHR, or /ip /system /interface paths. Scope: RouterOS 7.x (long-term and newer) only — v6 is NOT covered and accuracy for v6 problems will be low.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/ComeOnOliver/skillshub

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/ComeOnOliver/skillshub "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/aiskillstore/marketplace/tikoci/routeros-fundamentals" ~/.claude/skills/comeonoliver-skillshub-routeros-fundamentals && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: skills/aiskillstore/marketplace/tikoci/routeros-fundamentals/SKILL.md

source content

RouterOS Fundamentals

RouterOS Is NOT GNU/Linux

RouterOS runs a Linux kernel (5.6.3) but everything above the kernel is MikroTik's proprietary

nova

system. This is the single most important fact for agents to internalize.

What does NOT exist on RouterOS:

No
```
/bin
```
,
```
/usr
```
,
```
/etc
```
,
```
/var
```
— no FHS layout
No bash, sh, ash, zsh — no Unix shell at all
No coreutils (
```
ls
```
,
```
cat
```
,
```
grep
```
,
```
ps
```
,
```
mount
```
,
```
ip
```
,
```
iptables
```
, etc.)
No glibc, musl, busybox
No apt, pkg, opkg — no package manager (packages are
```
.npk
```
files installed via upload + reboot)
No
```
systemctl
```
,
```
service
```
, init system
No
```
/proc
```
or
```
/sys
```
accessible from userland
No
```
docker
```
,
```
podman
```
— RouterOS has its own
```
/container
```
subsystem (7.x+)

What DOES exist:

RouterOS CLI — its own language, not shell. Accessed via SSH, serial, WinBox, or WebFig
REST API at
```
/rest/
```
(HTTP, port 80 by default) — the primary programmatic interface
RouterOS scripting language (
```
.rsc
```
files) — its own syntax, not bash. See Scripting reference
WebFig (web UI) on port 80
WinBox protocol on port 8291

Common agent mistakes to avoid:

Do NOT try
```
ssh admin@host 'ls /'
```
— it opens RouterOS CLI, not a shell
Do NOT suggest
```
mount
```
,
```
fdisk
```
,
```
mkfs
```
— use
```
/disk
```
commands instead
Do NOT look for config files at
```
/etc/
```
— configuration is in the RouterOS database
Do NOT assume
```
ping
```
works the same — it's
```
/tool/ping
```
or
```
/ping
```
in CLI
Do NOT suggest installing packages via
```
apt
```
or
```
opkg
```
— upload
```
.npk
```
via SCP then
```
/system/reboot
```
See Extra packages reference for the full package list and installation pattern

RouterOS CLI Syntax

RouterOS CLI uses path-based navigation, not Unix command pipelines:

# Navigation
/ip/address/print
/interface/print
/system/resource/print

# Adding entries
/ip/address/add address=192.168.1.1/24 interface=ether1

# Modifying (by internal ID or find expression)
/ip/address/set [find interface=ether1] address=10.0.0.1/24

# Removing
/ip/address/remove [find address="192.168.1.1/24"]

# Running a command
/system/reboot
/tool/fetch url="http://example.com/file.npk" dst-path="/"

Key syntax differences from shell:

```
=
```
assigns properties (no spaces around it)
```
[find ...]
```
is the query expression (like WHERE)
Strings use
```
""
```
(double quotes only)
Comments use
```
#
```
Variables:
```
:local myVar "value"
```
and
```
$myVar
```
No pipes, no redirection, no subshell

REST API Patterns

RouterOS REST API (v7.x+) at

http://HOST:PORT/rest/

// Base pattern — use fetch() or Bun-native HTTP
const base = "http://192.168.1.1/rest";
const auth = { headers: { Authorization: `Basic ${btoa("admin:")}` } };

// GET = print (list/read)
const interfaces = await fetch(`${base}/interface`, auth).then(r => r.json());

// PUT = add (create new entry)
await fetch(`${base}/ip/address`, {
  method: "PUT",
  ...auth,
  headers: { ...auth.headers, "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify({ address: "192.168.1.1/24", interface: "ether1" }),
});

// PATCH = set (modify existing)
await fetch(`${base}/ip/address/*1`, {
  method: "PATCH",
  ...auth,
  body: JSON.stringify({ address: "10.0.0.1/24" }),
});

// DELETE = remove
await fetch(`${base}/ip/address/*1`, { method: "DELETE", ...auth });

// POST = command (execute an action)
await fetch(`${base}/ip/dns/cache/flush`, { method: "POST", ...auth });

REST gotchas:

```
PUT
```
creates,
```
PATCH
```
updates — opposite of many APIs
Empty password:
```
admin:
```
(colon required, empty string after)
WebFig (port 80, GET
```
/
```
) returns HTTP 200 without auth — useful for health checks
REST API (
```
/rest/
```
) returns HTTP 401 without auth
Property names may differ from CLI names (hyphens vs underscores vary by version)
```
.id
```
field is
```
*HEX
```
format (e.g.,
```
*1
```
,
```
*A
```
)
POST to
```
/rest/system/reboot
```
— no body needed for action commands

Version Scheme

Format:

MAJOR.MINOR[.PATCH][betaN|rcN]

— e.g.,

7.22

7.22.1

7.23beta2

7.22rc1

Channels (from

upgrade.mikrotik.com/routeros/NEWESTa7.<channel>

```
stable
```
— production recommended
```
long-term
```
— conservative, gets backported fixes
```
testing
```
— pre-release candidates
```
development
```
— beta features

// Resolve current version for a channel
const version = await fetch(
  "https://upgrade.mikrotik.com/routeros/NEWESTa7.stable"
).then(r => r.text());

Download URLs:

Standard:

https://download.mikrotik.com/routeros/<ver>/chr-<ver>.img.zip

(x86_64)

ARM64:

https://download.mikrotik.com/routeros/<ver>/chr-<ver>-arm64.img.zip

Architecture Names

MikroTik uses these architecture identifiers (not standard Linux arch names):

MikroTik name	CPU	Common hardware
`x86`	x86_64	CHR, x86-based RouterBOARDs
`arm64`	aarch64	Modern ARM boards (RB5009, Chateau)
`arm`	ARMv7	Older ARM boards
`mipsbe`	MIPS big-endian	Legacy RouterBOARDs
`mmips`	MIPS multi-core	hAP ac, RB4011
`smips`	MIPS single-core	hAP lite, mAP
`ppc`	PowerPC	CCR1xxx series
`tile`	Tilera	CCR (older models)

CHR (Cloud Hosted Router) is available only for

x86

and

arm64

Default Credentials

Username:
```
admin
```
Password: (empty — no password)
On first login via SSH/console, RouterOS 7.x prompts to set a password or press
```
a
```
to skip
REST API and WebFig allow empty-password access

Inspecting Hardware from RouterOS CLI

# PCI devices (the RouterOS equivalent of lspci)
/system/resource/hardware/print

# IRQ assignments (shows driver binding)
/system/resource/irq/print

# System overview
/system/resource/print

# Disk info
/disk/print

# Installed packages
/system/package/print

# IP services and ports
/ip/service/print

# Network interfaces
/interface/print

Additional Resources

Reference files:

For REST API details and
```
/console/inspect
```
command tree: see REST API reference
For version parsing, comparison, and download URL logic: see Version parsing reference
For extra packages (container, iot, zerotier, etc.): see Extra packages reference
For device-mode (modes, feature matrix, physical confirmation): see Device-mode reference
For RouterOS scripting language syntax: see Scripting reference

Related skills:

For the /container subsystem (VETH, device-mode, lifecycle): see the
```
routeros-container
```
skill
For netinstall-cli and device flashing: see the
```
routeros-netinstall
```
skill
For the /app YAML container format (7.22+): see the
```
routeros-app-yaml
```
skill
For /console/inspect tree traversal and schema generation: see the
```
routeros-command-tree
```
skill
For running CHR in QEMU (local or CI): see the
```
routeros-qemu-chr
```
skill
For QEMU user-mode emulation and macOS VM bridging: see the
```
tikoci-qemu-user-emulation
```
skill
For building OCI images for RouterOS: see the
```
tikoci-oci-image-building
```
skill

MCP tools:

For command tree browsing and property lookups: use the
```
rosetta
```
MCP server tools (
```
routeros_search
```
,
```
routeros_get_page
```
,
```
routeros_command_tree
```
)