Connectwise Control

ConnectWise Control Claude Code Skill

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the connectwise-control-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

1. macOS / Linux:

   bashCopy code
   bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/connectwise-control/install.sh)
   

2. Windows (PowerShell):

   powershellCopy code
   iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/servosity/msp-skills/main/skills/connectwise-control/install.ps1 | iex
   

3. Verify: connectwise-control-cli --version
4. Ensure ~/.local/bin (macOS / Linux) or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\msp-skills (Windows) is on $PATH.

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the install step did not put the binary on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

Drive a ConnectWise Control (ScreenConnect) instance from the terminal or an AI agent: list and inspect remote-support and access sessions, read session detail and the audit log, manage session names and custom properties, manage instance users, and run an approved command on a guest machine. Output is JSON-first with an offline SQLite mirror for fast session lookups. Authentication is HTTP Basic with your instance login (CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_USERNAME / CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_PASSWORD) against your instance base URL (CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_BASE_URL).

HTTP Transport

This CLI uses Chrome-compatible HTTP transport for browser-facing endpoints. It does not require a resident browser process for normal API calls.

Command Reference

audit - Audit metadata and audit-log queries (AuditService).

• connectwise-control-cli audit get-info - Returns metadata about the audit subsystem (available event types and retention).
• connectwise-control-cli audit query-log - Queries audit-log records by session, time window, and event type.

security - Users, roles, and security configuration (SecurityService).

• connectwise-control-cli security delete-user - Deletes an instance user. Requires the x-anti-forgery-token header. Wire format: positional array ['<userName>'].
• connectwise-control-cli security get-configuration - Returns the instance security configuration, including users and roles. Wire format: empty positional array [].
• connectwise-control-cli security save-user - Creates a new instance user or updates an existing one. Requires the x-anti-forgery-token header.

session_groups - Session groups that organize sessions (SessionGroupService).

• connectwise-control-cli session-groups - Returns all session groups configured on the instance.

sessions - Remote support, access, and meeting sessions (PageService).

• connectwise-control-cli sessions add-event-to - Queues a session event (such as Wake-on-LAN) against one or more sessions.
• connectwise-control-cli sessions get-access-token - Issues a one-time access token/URL to join a session. Wire format: positional array ['<group>', '<sessionID>'].
• connectwise-control-cli sessions get-detail - Returns full detail (connections and recent events) for one session.
• connectwise-control-cli sessions list - Returns the live session list for a session type and group.
• connectwise-control-cli sessions run-command - Queues a command or control event on a session.
• connectwise-control-cli sessions update-custom-property - Sets one custom property value on a session.
• connectwise-control-cli sessions update-name - Renames a session. Wire format: positional array ['<group>', '<sessionID>', '<newName>'].

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

bashCopy code
connectwise-control-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match - fall back to --help or use a narrower query.

Auth Setup

ConnectWise Control authenticates with HTTP Basic auth - the same user name and password you use for the web console - against your instance base URL. Set all three:

bashCopy code
export CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_BASE_URL="https://company.screenconnect.com"
export CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_USERNAME="<your-instance-user>"
export CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_PASSWORD="<your-instance-password>"

Or persist them in ~/.config/connectwise-control-cli/config.toml.

Run connectwise-control-cli doctor to verify setup.

Agent Mode

Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.

• Pipeable - JSON on stdout, errors on stderr

• Filterable - --select keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:

  bashCopy code
  connectwise-control-cli session-groups --agent --select id,name,status
  

• Previewable - --dry-run shows the request without sending

• Offline-friendly - sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available

• Non-interactive - never prompts, every input is a flag

• Explicit retries - use --idempotent only when an already-existing create should count as success

Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

jsonCopy code
{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}

Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (--json, --csv, --compact, --quiet, --plain, --select) is set - piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

Copy code
connectwise-control-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
connectwise-control-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
connectwise-control-cli feedback list --json --limit 10

Entries are stored locally at ~/.local/share/connectwise-control-cli/feedback.jsonl. They are never POSTed unless CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or CONNECTWISE_CONTROL_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

Output Delivery

Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration.

Copy code
connectwise-control-cli profile save briefing --json
connectwise-control-cli --profile briefing session-groups
connectwise-control-cli profile list --json
connectwise-control-cli profile show briefing
connectwise-control-cli profile delete briefing --yes

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

Exit Codes

Argument Parsing

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

1. Empty, help, or --help → show connectwise-control-cli --help output
2. Starts with install → ends with mcp → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
3. Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with --agent)

MCP Server Installation

1. Install the MCP binary (run the install script from the Prerequisites section, or see mcp-install.md for per-agent wire-up).
2. Register with Claude Code:

   bashCopy code
   claude mcp add connectwise-control-mcp -- connectwise-control-mcp
   

3. Verify: claude mcp list

Direct Use

1. Check if installed: which connectwise-control-cli If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
2. Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
3. Execute with the --agent flag:

   bashCopy code
   connectwise-control-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent
   

4. If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: connectwise-control-cli <command> --help.