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Installation

This guide covers installing Netex suite plugins via the EmberAI marketplace in Claude Code.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.12 or later -- check with python3 --version
  • Claude Code -- Netex plugins run as MCP servers inside Claude's plugin ecosystem

Add the EmberAI Marketplace

Register the EmberAI marketplace so Claude Code can discover Netex plugins:

/plugin marketplace add bluminal/emberai

Install Plugins

Install the plugins you need. Each plugin is independent -- install only what matches your network equipment.

UniFi Plugin (edge layer)

For UniFi switches, access points, and wireless management:

/plugin install unifi@emberai

OPNsense Plugin (gateway layer)

For OPNsense firewall, routing, VPN, DNS, DHCP, and IDS/IPS:

/plugin install opnsense@emberai

Netex Umbrella Plugin (cross-vendor orchestration)

For operations that span both UniFi and OPNsense (unified topology, VLAN provisioning, security audits):

/plugin install netex@emberai

Install order does not matter

Each plugin manages its own virtual environment and dependencies. The netex umbrella plugin discovers installed vendor plugins automatically at startup via the Plugin Registry.

What Happens on First Run

When a plugin runs for the first time, it:

  1. Creates an isolated Python virtual environment
  2. Installs the plugin package and its dependencies
  3. Starts the MCP server

Subsequent runs reuse the existing virtual environment and start immediately.

Verify Installation

After configuring authentication (see next step), verify each installed plugin:

unifi-server --check
opnsense-server --check
netex-server --check

A successful check prints connection status and exits with code 0.

Alternative: Install from Source (Development)

For contributors or local development, you can install plugins directly:

git clone https://github.com/bluminal/emberai.git
cd emberai
pip install -e "./unifi"       # and/or opnsense, netex

For development dependencies (testing, linting, type checking):

pip install -e "./unifi" --group dev

What's Installed

Each plugin provides an MCP server with specialized network intelligence tools:

Plugin Scope Key Capabilities
unifi Edge layer Topology discovery, health monitoring, WiFi analysis, client management, traffic inspection, security audit, multi-site operations
opnsense Gateway layer Interface/VLAN management, firewall rules, routing, VPN tunnels, DNS, DHCP, IDS/IPS, diagnostics
netex Cross-vendor Unified topology, cross-vendor health, VLAN provisioning, security audit, policy sync

Next Steps