AirConnect package for Synology NAS and Synology Router

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A Synology package for AirConnect: it lets AirPlay stream to Sonos/UPnP and Chromecast devices that don’t natively speak AirPlay - install it, and your existing speakers just show up as AirPlay targets. One package covers both device families; you don’t need to pick.

🎵 Want Spotify rather than AirPlay? See SpotConnect-Synology, the sibling package. It makes the same speakers appear in the Spotify app as real Spotify Connect devices, which is not the same thing as what you get here. With AirConnect your phone is a link in the audio chain, so the music stops when it leaves the Wi-Fi, and only Apple devices can send at all. With SpotConnect the NAS holds the stream and your phone is only a remote, so Android works too and anyone in the house can take over. The two are complementary and run side by side - AirConnect still covers everything that is not Spotify, plus Chromecast, which SpotConnect does not do at all.

📦 Also listed in 007revad’s Synology Package Source. Add it once in Package Center (Settings → Package Sources → Add → Name 007revad, Location https://spkrepo.007daver.workers.dev/), then install/update AirConnect from the Community tab like any other Synology package - no manual downloads needed. See discussion #189.

Table of contents

• Which package do I need?
• Features
• Quick start
• Editing files from your PC
• Logs
• Configuration
• Background
• Known limitations
• Troubleshooting
• Building from source
• License
• Credits

Which package do I need?

Almost everyone wants the DSM 7 line:

1. Check your device/router’s CPU architecture on Synology’s What kind of CPU does my Synology NAS have? page (or just try the x86_64 package first if you’re on any recent Intel/AMD-based NAS - it’s by far the most common).
2. Download the matching AirConnect-dsm7-<architecture>-<version>.spk from the latest release.
3. Install it via Package Center (see Quick start below).

That’s it for most people - the defaults just work, no configuration needed.

Running a Synology Router (SRM), not a NAS? Use the arm package - confirmed working on a real RT2600ac.

Full architecture matrix, static-package fallback, and the older DSM 5/6 line: see doc/ARCHITECTURES.md.

On very old hardware, AirConnect can fail immediately with FATAL: kernel too old - a real, developer-confirmed issue, but not predictable from your device model alone (it depends on your current DSM patch level, not just kernel/platform). See doc/TROUBLESHOOTING.md before assuming your device isn’t supported.

Features

• One package for both Sonos/UPnP and Chromecast devices - no need to choose
• Works out of the box with tuned defaults; nothing to configure for most setups
• Runs as a dedicated low-privilege airconnect user on DSM 7 (not root)
• Fully managed by DSM - Package Center install/upgrade/uninstall wizard, no manual service setup
• Optional: link airconnect.conf/logs/config files into a shared folder for SMB access without SSH (off by default)
• Automatic log rotation (50 MB cap, one backup kept)
• Fixed RTP/HTTP port range option for firewall rules (#142)

Quick start

Install via Package Center

1. Download your package (see Which package do I need?).
2. Open Package Center on your Synology device.
3. Click Manual Install and upload the .spk file you downloaded.

4. Select which binaries to install (both, or just one if you only need Sonos/UPnP or Chromecast):

   

5. Confirm the IP and port for airupnp (defaults to your device’s primary IP - double check this if your device has a VPN, mesh, or other non-LAN default route):

   

6. Optional - leave unchecked unless you specifically want to edit airconnect.conf/config files or view the log from your computer without SSH (see Editing files from your PC):

   

7. Finish the wizard. AirConnect starts automatically; your Sonos/UPnP and Chromecast devices should appear as AirPlay targets within a few seconds.

Verifying your download (optional): every release includes a SHA256SUMS file alongside the .spk packages, covering every architecture - you’ll only have the one you downloaded, so check just that line rather than the whole file (which would otherwise report the other architectures as missing): grep <your-file>.spk SHA256SUMS | sha256sum -c - (on macOS: grep <your-file>.spk SHA256SUMS | shasum -a 256 -c -). Should print OK. Most people don’t need this; it’s here for anyone who wants to confirm a download wasn’t corrupted or tampered with in transit.

DSM 5/6: see doc/ARCHITECTURES.md - different (frozen) package line, same Manual Install steps.

Upgrading

Just install the new package over the old one via Package Center - your airconnect.conf is preserved automatically. If you’re moving from DSM 6 to DSM 7, download the dsm7--prefixed package for your architecture instead of the old one (the old package won’t run under DSM 7).

If install/upgrade fails outright, see doc/TROUBLESHOOTING.md.

Editing files from your PC

By default, nothing is exposed outside the package directory - edit airconnect.conf or place a custom config.xml/config-cast.xml directly via SSH (/volume1/@appstore/AirConnect/, adjust /volume1 for your install volume).

If you’d rather edit these from your computer without SSH, check “Enable shared-folder links” during install or upgrade (off by default; upgrading shows the same option again, preselected with your current choice, so you can change your mind later without reinstalling). This links airconnect.conf, the log, and (if present) config.xml/config-cast.xml into the package’s airconnect shared folder. Unchecking it again removes just those links - never deletes the real files. See step 6 above for what this looks like during install.

Works over SMB only - map the shared folder from Windows, Mac, or Linux (e.g. smb://<your-nas>/airconnect); confirmed working, including editing and saving airconnect.conf directly. Not supported via File Station (can’t display symlinks at all) or AFP (no equivalent setting). You’ll also need to enable allow symlinks under Control Panel → File Services → SMB → Advanced Settings on your Synology device (a device-wide setting, not specific to this package) - activate both options shown here:

The airconnect shared folder always exists, whether or not you ever check this option - Synology’s own packaging framework creates it unconditionally and gives packages no supported way to remove it again, even when nothing is linked into it. This is deliberate on Synology’s part (a package silently deleting a shared folder could destroy real user data), not a bug here. If you don’t want it around at all, remove it yourself: Control Panel → Shared Folder → select airconnect → Delete, or via SSH: sudo synoshare --del TRUE airconnect.

On uninstall, this shared folder also doubles as a backup location: airconnect.conf and the log are always copied there first as real files (not symlinks) before the package directory is removed - regardless of whether you ever enabled shared-folder links - unless you check “Delete the contents…“ in the uninstall dialog, since there’s no point backing up something about to be deleted.

Logs

• AirConnect log: /volume1/@appstore/AirConnect/log/airconnect.log (adjust /volume1 for your install volume). View via SSH (sudo /usr/syno/bin/synopkg log AirConnect, or tail -100 <path>), or over SMB at /volume1/airconnect/<packagename-lowercase>.log if shared-folder links are enabled (see above). Auto-rotates at 50 MB, keeping one backup (airconnect.1.log, deleted on next start).
• DSM package log: /var/log/packages/AirConnect.log - install/upgrade/uninstall history, mainly useful for debugging the package itself rather than AirConnect’s runtime behavior.

Configuration

Most setups need zero configuration - defaults are already tuned. If you do need to change something (log level, device filter, latency, port range, or an advanced upstream option via config.xml), see doc/CONFIG.md for the full airconnect.conf reference, supported speaker list, command-line arguments, and player-specific tuning (Sonos, Bose SoundTouch, Pioneer/Phorus/Play-Fi).

Background

What’s changed in this package recently:

• Brought current from a two-year-old release (1.8.3 → 1.11.3) after a long quiet period, plus an automated weekly upstream-check that opens a PR on new AirConnect releases (merge is always a manual, reviewed decision)
• Verified end-to-end on real hardware across DSM, DSM-on-router (SRM), and multiple device generations, not just built and assumed to work
• Several real packaging bugs found and fixed: daemonized processes incorrectly shown as “stopped” in Package Center, installation failing on Synology routers, a port-check bug that could refuse to start over a port that wasn’t actually in use, a process-kill path that could in principle target an unrelated process
• Shared-folder use made fully opt-in (off by default) instead of always-on, addressing discussion #132
• Ongoing CI hardening (checksum-verified upstream downloads, linting, security scanning) to catch problems before they ship, not after

Known limitations

• Whether very old hardware can run the current package isn’t predictable from the model alone, and there’s no automated compatibility check yet at install time - see doc/TROUBLESHOOTING.md.
• The airconnect shared folder can’t be removed by the package itself (a deliberate Synology restriction) - see Editing files from your PC.
• The legacy DSM 5/6 package line is frozen at AirConnect 0.2.50.5 and only receives packaging-level fixes, not upstream feature updates.
• SRM (Synology Router) support is confirmed on one router model (RT2600ac) - not independently verified across every router model and SRM version.

Troubleshooting

Can’t install, package shows as stopped when it isn’t, players not appearing, or anything else not working as expected - see doc/TROUBLESHOOTING.md first (install/upgrade failures, old-hardware kernel errors, multicast/IGMP network issues, debug logging).

Still stuck? Open an issue with your device model, the package you downloaded, and your logs (see Logs).

Building from source

Pre-built packages cover every supported architecture already - you only need this if you want a different AirConnect version or are changing the packaging scripts. See doc/BUILD.md.

License

• AirConnect (the upstream binaries): see its own LICENSE.
• AirConnect-Synology (this packaging): MIT.

Credits

• @bandesz for the initial idea and work on a Synology package for AirConnect.
• philippe44 for AirConnect itself.
• Sibling project: SpotConnect-Synology, the same packaging approach applied to Spotify Connect.