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Deploying 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.

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. Both can enforce settings such as encryption or clipboard sharing on every computer, with Group Policy, a configuration profile or a policy file.

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

The installer always installs for every user of the computer, so there is no install scope to choose.

  • Synergy 3: there is no settings scope to choose either. 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.
  • 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

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 the app opens, macOS asks for Accessibility access, which an administrator must allow. For the steps, see: Installing on macOS
  • Linux: install the package from a terminal.
    • Synergy 3: the commands for each distribution, and the package names, are in: Installing on Linux
    • Synergy 1: 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 are in: Installing 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:

  • Synergy 3: 
    msiexec /i "synergy-3.7.2-windows-x64.msi" /qn /norestart
  • Synergy 1: 
    msiexec /i "synergy_1.21.4_windows_x64.msi" /qn /norestart

The switches:

  • /qn installs with no user interface.
  • /norestart stops Windows from restarting the computer.

The installer installs for every user, into C:\Program Files\Synergy, so ALLUSERS=1 isn't needed. It doesn't take 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. What it starts:

  • Synergy 3: it installs and starts the core daemon (Synergy Core Daemon) straight away, and starts the background service for each user when they sign in.
  • Synergy 1: it installs and starts the daemon (Synergy) straight away.

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 locked settings, open the settings and check that the settings you locked 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:

  • Synergy 3: 
    msiexec /x "synergy-3.7.2-windows-x64.msi" /qn /norestart
  • Synergy 1: 
    msiexec /x "synergy_1.21.4_windows_x64.msi" /qn /norestart

Enforce settings across the fleet

To require encryption or turn off clipboard sharing on every computer, lock those settings with Group Policy, from Group Policy Preferences or Intune. Set the values under your product's key, below, one subkey per section. The app applies them however it is started and grays out each locked control. The keys, the values and the checks are in: Locking down settings so users cannot change them

  • Synergy 3: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Synergy\Synergy 3
  • Synergy 1: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Synergy\Synergy 1. Import the Group Policy template attached to that article, and set the policies in the Group Policy editor or Intune rather than writing the registry yourself.

Whether a policy file can be used on Windows instead is in your product's section: Synergy 3 or Synergy 1

Step 4 - Enter your serial key

Enter the serial key on every computer, even though only the computer whose keyboard and mouse you share uses an activation.

  • Synergy 3: open the app, 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: Entering or changing your serial key
  • Synergy 1: open the app from your Applications folder or Start menu. When it asks for your serial key, paste the serial key from your Synergy account and click OK.

How activations are counted on your license is explained in: How license activation works

Step 5 - Basic configuration

  • Synergy 3: Firewall: it uses TCP port 24800, plus 24802 for keeping settings in step between computers and 24804 for auto discovery.
  • Synergy 1:
    • Server vs. client: 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: Connecting your computers
    • Firewall: it uses TCP port 24800.

The ports and firewall rules are covered in: Which ports to open in a firewall

Next steps

What follows depends on your product: Synergy 3 or Synergy 1

Synergy 3

On Windows, Synergy 3 reads only Group Policy, not a policy file, so lock its settings with the Group Policy key above.

Synergy 1

Policy file on Windows

Synergy 1 can read a policy file instead of Group Policy, C:\ProgramData\Synergy\Synergy.policy.ini. 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 sharing doesn't start until an administrator takes it back.

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.policy.ini" -Encoding UTF8 -Value @"
[security]
tlsEnabled=true

[core]
clipboardSharing=false
"@
icacls "C:\ProgramData\Synergy\Synergy.policy.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.

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