Routeros fundamentals

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)