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Deploy Synergy 1 or Synergy 3 across your organization, including silent install on Windows

Updated

Written for Synergy 3 (v3.7.2) and Synergy 1 (v1.21.4), checked 3 October 2026.

Product: Synergy 1 or Synergy 3, with a Synergy Business license
Operating system: Windows, macOS, and Linux

Overview

Whether you're deploying Synergy 1 or Synergy 3 across multiple shared workstations or pushing it to end users via automated software tools (Group Policy, SCCM, Intune or any tool that takes MSI arguments), install it with administrative privileges. Below you'll find the key steps for a deployment on Windows, macOS, or Linux, including a silent install on Windows, with links to the articles that cover each step in detail.

Choose Synergy 1 or Synergy 3

We recommend Synergy 1 for business deployments, and Synergy 3 is supported for business too. Choose Synergy 1 if you need to enforce settings such as encryption or clipboard sharing on every computer: only Synergy 1 reads a locked settings file. Synergy 3 has no equivalent, and on Windows its installer gives every local user full control of its settings folder.

Install one of the two on each computer. On Windows the two installers share an upgrade identity, so installing Synergy 3 removes Synergy 1 from that computer.

What you need before installation

  • An active Synergy Business license
  • The Synergy 1 or Synergy 3 installer, from the download page: Download Synergy
  • Administrator privileges on each computer
  • At least two computers on the same network (Ethernet or Wi-Fi)

Step 1 - Decide on settings scope

Both installers always install for every user of the computer, so there is no install scope to choose.

In Synergy 1, what you do choose is where the settings live: for each user, or once for all users of a shared computer. For shared computers, set up the "All users" scope after installing, as described in: Configure Synergy 1 for multi-user support

Synergy 3 has no choice to make. On Windows it keeps one set of settings for the whole computer, in C:\ProgramData\Synergy, shared by every user. On macOS and Linux each user has their own settings.

Step 2 - Download the latest installer

  1. Log in to your account on our website: Synergy account
  2. Under your license, click Download.
  3. Choose the Synergy 1 or Synergy 3 installer for your operating system (.msi for Windows, .dmg for macOS, or the package for your Linux distribution).
  4. Save it to a convenient local or shared folder.

Step 3 - Run the installer

  • Windows: double-click the .msi file and follow the prompts, clicking Yes when Windows asks for permission to make changes. The installer adds the Windows firewall exceptions for you. To install without any prompts, from a deployment tool, see the silent install section below.
  • macOS: open the .dmg file and drag Synergy to the Applications folder. The first time Synergy 1 or Synergy 3 opens, macOS asks for Accessibility access, which an administrator must allow. For the steps, see: Installing Synergy 1 on macOS or Installing Synergy 3 on macOS
  • Linux: install the package from a terminal, for example: 
    sudo apt install ./synergy_<version>_<distro>_x86_64.deb

    or

    sudo dnf install ./synergy_<version>_<distro>_x86_64.rpm

    The commands for other distributions, and the Synergy 3 package names, are in: Installing Synergy 1 on Linux and Installing Synergy 3 on Linux

Silent install on Windows

Run the MSI with msiexec and the /qn switch, from your deployment tool or from a command prompt run as administrator. Use the name of the file you downloaded, for example:

msiexec /i "synergy_1.21.4_windows_x64.msi" /qn /norestart

or, for Synergy 3:

msiexec /i "synergy-3.7.2-windows-x64.msi" /qn /norestart
  • /qn installs with no user interface.
  • /norestart stops Windows from restarting the computer.

Both installers install for every user, into C:\Program Files\Synergy, so ALLUSERS=1 isn't needed. Neither installer takes a serial key or settings on the command line; enter the serial key on each computer, as in Step 4.

A silent install doesn't open the app afterwards. It installs and starts the background service straight away (Synergy for Synergy 1, Synergy Core Daemon for Synergy 3), and Synergy 3 also starts its background process for each user when they sign in.

To push the install to your computers with Group Policy, SCCM, Intune or another tool:

  1. Add the MSI and the command line to your software deployment package.
  2. Push the package to the target computers.

To check a computer after the install:

  • Check that the app is in C:\Program Files\Synergy.
  • Sign in as a standard user and check that the app opens without asking for administrator credentials.
  • If you deployed a Synergy 1 locked settings file, open the settings windows and check that the locked settings are grayed out.

To upgrade, deploy the newer MSI with the same /i command: it replaces the installed version. To uninstall silently, use /x instead of /i:

msiexec /x "synergy_1.21.4_windows_x64.msi" /qn /norestart

Enforce settings across the fleet (Synergy 1)

To require encryption or turn off clipboard sharing on every computer, deploy a Synergy 1 locked settings file, C:\ProgramData\Synergy\Synergy.locked.ini. Synergy 1 reads it on every launch and grays out the settings it contains. The file format, the list of lockable settings and the checks are in: Lock down Synergy 1 settings so users cannot change them

Deploy the file in a step that runs as SYSTEM and is ordered before the Synergy 1 install: an Intune Win32 app or PowerShell script that the Synergy 1 app depends on, an SCCM task sequence step, or a GPO startup script. The order matters because the folder must exist, created by SYSTEM, before any user launches Synergy 1. If a standard user launches Synergy 1 first, Windows makes them the owner of C:\ProgramData\Synergy and they can edit or delete the locked file.

Lock down the file only, never the folder. Synergy 1 rewrites its server configuration (synergy-server.conf) in C:\ProgramData\Synergy every time the server starts and keeps its encryption certificate in the tls folder there, so a read-only folder stops the server from starting.

Example PowerShell for the deployment step, which requires encryption and turns clipboard sharing off:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "C:\ProgramData\Synergy" | Out-Null
Set-Content -Path "C:\ProgramData\Synergy\Synergy.locked.ini" -Encoding UTF8 -Value @"
[security]
tlsEnabled=true

[internalConfig]
clipboardSharing=false
"@
icacls "C:\ProgramData\Synergy\Synergy.locked.ini" /inheritance:r /grant:r "SYSTEM:F" "Administrators:F" "Users:RX" | Out-Null

The icacls line lets only SYSTEM and Administrators change the file, and standard users read it. The check for computers where the folder already exists is in the lockdown article linked above.

Step 4 - Enter your serial key

Enter the serial key on every computer, even though only the Synergy 1 server or the Synergy 3 primary computer uses an activation.

  • Synergy 1: open Synergy 1 from your Applications folder or Start menu. When Synergy 1 asks for your serial key, paste the serial key from your Synergy account and click OK.
  • Synergy 3: open Synergy 3, then click Continue to login to sign in with your Synergy account, or Use serial key manually to paste the serial key. For the steps, see: Enter or change your serial key in Synergy 3

How activations are counted on your license is explained in: How license activation works in Synergy 1 and Synergy 3

Step 5 - Basic configuration

  • Server vs. client: in Synergy 1, decide which computer is the server (the one sharing its keyboard and mouse) and which are clients, then set each up. For the steps, see: How to configure Synergy 1
  • Firewall: Synergy 1 uses TCP port 24800. Synergy 3 also uses 24800, plus 24802 for keeping settings in step between computers and 24804 for auto discovery. The ports and firewall rules are covered in: What ports do Synergy 1 and Synergy 3 use?

Next steps

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