LLMs Make MikroTik Networking Actually Pleasant

MikroTik gear is reliable, cheap, and covers everything from IoT routers to point-to-point links. The usual knock against it is the UI and configuration complexity. But as Greg points out in his blog post, networking itself is complicated — the iceberg goes deep (MPLS, IGMP, OSPF). The real story here is that LLMs are now good enough to make MikroTik configuration tolerable, even fun.

Greg has been using LLMs — specifically Claude Code — to set up small networks over the last few months. He’s migrating existing networks and building new ones. His take: LLMs are a chaotic force multiplier. They know how to configure MikroTiks and networking in general, but they still hallucinate and go off-path. Keep a tight leash, verify constantly, but you’ll move faster.

Key Tactics for LLM-Driven MikroTik Config

Greg’s list of tips is worth reading in full, but here are the highlights:

• Use the REST/JSON API, not SSH. SSH leads to a death-by-a-thousand-cuts when piping text back and forth. The REST API is more LLM-native.
• Disable insecure services — non-secure API, www, telnet, FTP.
• Dump the full config before and after every change. Version-control those dumps. An automated backup tool would be ideal.
• CAPsMAN simplifies WiFi enormously. Configuring it with an LLM is a breeze.
• Ask multiple LLMs (Antigravity, Codex, Opus, Fable) to cross-check configs and reach consensus.
• Take notes before tearing down a network — SSIDs, passwords, DHCP reservations.
• Have a recovery runbook. Test it. An untested backup is worthless.
• Minimize tasks, go one by one. Test after every change. LLMs hallucinate.
• Set up NTP on all devices.
• Name your devices and ports descriptively. It pays off.
• Keep all devices on the same RouterOS version. LLMs sometimes assume syntax that doesn’t match the running version.

The L2 Lifeline: MAC Telnet

When IP addresses go sideways — overlapping 192.168.88.x subnets, can’t reach the router — Greg recommends MAC Telnet. It lets you telnet over the L2 (MAC-address) layer. It’s the CLI equivalent of WinBox, but LLMs can drive it. He built a Homebrew formula and a small CLI wrapper to make it more LLM-friendly.

The takeaway: LLMs are not magic, but they’re a legit tool for network configuration — if you treat them like a junior engineer who needs constant verification and a clear runbook. Greg’s post is a practical, opinionated field guide. Worth a read.