If you own a Synology NAS, you probably know the pain: the DSM web admin interface is rough with VoiceOver. I got tired of fighting it, so I started building a native Mac alternative — and before I go further, I'd genuinely love to know whether others would find it useful and which features you'd want first.
What it is
DSM Access is a free, open-source macOS app that talks directly to your Synology NAS through Synology's official Web API. It's built VoiceOver-first by someone who actually uses VoiceOver every day (me). The goal is simple: the things you currently struggle with in the DSM web UI, done in a clean, native, fully accessible Mac app.
What works today
- Sign in to your NAS — password login, with two-factor / one-time-code support and "remember this device."
- System information — model, DSM version, memory, uptime, temperature, and more.
- Browse File Station — your shared folders and their contents (read-only for now).
The file browser is where I put the most accessibility care. It uses a native table, like the Finder list view, so:
- Arrow keys move through the list (nothing opens just because your cursor lands on it).
- Command + Down or Return enters a folder.
- Command + Up goes back to the parent folder.
- VO-Space activates a row.
- Loading and errors are spoken — nothing happens silently.
Under the hood
- A native Mac app (SwiftUI, dropping down to AppKit where it makes accessibility genuinely better — the file list is one such place).
- Uses only Synology's documented API — no private or hidden endpoints, so it should stay reliable across DSM updates.
- Bilingual: English and French.
Being honest about the status
This is early. The code is public on GitHub: https://github.com/math65/dsmaccess (MIT license). There is no ready-to-install signed build yet — I want to gauge interest and priorities before investing more time, and a proper downloadable release will follow. If you're comfortable with Xcode, you can already build it from source.
Where you come in
- Would you actually use a native, accessible Mac app to manage your Synology NAS?
- File Station is next. Which of these would you want first?
- Download files to your Mac
- Upload files to the NAS
- Manage files: create folders, rename, move/copy, delete
- Create shareable links
- Search within a shared folder
- Would managing Download Station tasks (add / pause / remove downloads) be useful to you?
- Open question: what else about your NAS would you most want to do from an accessible Mac app? Some areas depend on what Synology's API actually exposes, so your answers genuinely help me figure out where it's realistic to dig.
Thanks for reading — any feedback, even a simple "yes, I'd use this," helps me decide where to take it. 🙏
Comments
I'd love it.
Particularly if you get write access going. I have no idea if I just haven't used it in ages or if there's an issue with the web on Mac, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to create a new directory at the top level. And I keep meaning to, so I can look into setting up a Time Machine backup.
I should add though I'm on an older device, running, 6.something I want to say, it's the latest version it will run. So it's possible mine is too old for this to matter.
hmm
I thought this was mostly accessible according to Jonathan Mosen. Been thinking about getting one of these and I use both mac and windows.
It is, more or less.
It's just that the web interface does a lot with panels and stuff, so things will appear at the bottom of the page sometimes, stuff like that. You can do stuff with it, but it's not necessarily an intuitive interface. To be fair, I haven't dug into every single thing, so I don't know if there's something that's literally not accessible. Also I use Firefox on Mac, so no idea what the Safari experience is like. Also as I've mentioned I'm running an older version, I should really try and find out how easy it would be to buy a newer device and move the drives into it.