Synology – Stop and uninstall package from command line

Recently, a member of the NAS Forum was blocked after the update to DSM 7. In fact, the package Synology Drive Server refused to start. This official package was constantly in the “Starting” status. Unfortunately for him, no action was possible via the administration interface. The button was grayed out. Luckily, it was possible to unlock it with a few commands. Here’s what to do if this happens to you…

Stopping and uninstalling a package

When the NAS refuses to perform an operation, it is often a problem with the interface. However, there is always one possibility: command line. To do this, you must activate the SSH via the Control Panel > Terminal and SNMP then check the box Activate the SSH service.

Source Graphics – NAS Forum

Open your Terminal in Linux or macOS. If you are on Windows, we recommend using the software Putty (it is free and open source). You must log in with an administrator user preferably:

ssh nomUtilisateur@adresseIPduNAS

You type the user’s password. Then we will go to root with the command:

sudo -s

We retype our user’s password. This command is mandatory otherwise the operations below will have no effect.

Stop a Synology package from the command line

First, we will check the name of the package to stop and then uninstall by typing:

synopkg list --name

This command ensures the correct name of our package to uninstall. For our friend, it is “SynologyDrive”. We will start by stopping it:

synopkg stop 

For Synology Drive Server, type:

synopkg stop SynologyDrive

Synology Drive Server shuts down in less than a second. Note that all packages that depend on the package will also be stopped. In our case, Synology Office (the office suite) shuts down simultaneously. You will be able to see the shutdown from the administration interface.

Uninstall Synology package from command line

Next we will uninstall the package. To do this, type the command

synopkg uninstall 

Still Synology Drive, type:

synopkg uninstall SynologyDrive

If another package is dependent on the one you are trying to uninstall, then you will get an error: « success »:false. If you have the Synology Office package (to use the same example), then you will have to uninstall it first… then uninstall Synology Drive.

Continuation and end

Finally, close the SSH connection. To do this, you can go directly through the administration interface to disable SSH: Control Panel > Terminal and SNMP then uncheck the Enable SSH service box.

For our friend on the forum, the uninstallation went smoothly and he was able to reinstall the application. The result, everything works fine. If this happens to you, do not hesitate to order online. It’s a bit tedious, but it’s often very effective.