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Use the Meraki Dashboard API connection to collect network-device identity, firmware, reachability, reported update availability, licence and VPN observations. It also records an MX layer-three firewall-rule fingerprint for change detection. For example, an MSP key may see Acme and several other Meraki organizations. The key’s visibility is not a client mapping: you must identify and assign the intended source organization before using its evidence.

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Before you begin

  • Access to the intended Meraki organization and permission to enable its Dashboard API access.
  • A Meraki administrator identity whose access is limited to the organizations and reads you intend Alignr to use. API keys inherit that identity’s permissions in each organization.
  • An Alignr role with integration.read and integration.manage, plus the client access needed to review mappings.
  • An existing Alignr client, or permission to create one during import.
The current Alignr connector uses an API key and performs read operations. You do not configure Meraki OAuth scopes in the Alignr form. Meraki’s OAuth permissions belong to a different authorisation method. Cisco’s authentication reference.

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Prepare Meraki

1

Enable API access for the organization

In Meraki Dashboard, review the intended organization’s API access setting and enable Dashboard API access if it is off. Cisco’s setup guide identifies Enable access to the Cisco Meraki Dashboard API as the setting to check.Confirm this for each intended organization; one accessible organization does not prove that API access is enabled everywhere. Cisco API setup.
2

Generate a key under the intended identity

Cisco’s current navigation is Organization → API & Webhooks → API keys and access. Review the identity’s organization permissions and generate a key. Store the credential securely for entry into Alignr.Older Dashboard layouts may show API key management under the profile. Use Cisco’s current key instructions if the menu differs.
3

Check the permission boundary

The same identity may be read-only in one organization and have broader access in another. Review the entire intended organization set. For evidence collection, use appropriate read access rather than granting write access to resolve an unrelated setup problem.Checkpoint: you know whose key this is and which organizations it is authorised to read.

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Add the connection in Alignr

  1. Open Integrations → + Add connection, choose Cisco Meraki and set a descriptive Connection name, such as Meraki — MSP managed clients.
  2. Paste the key into API key and review the collection interval.
  3. Save and inspect the outcome. A connection test checks that the organizations API is accessible; it does not prove every downstream workload read will succeed.
  4. Open Clients & sites and select Refresh sites. Review each returned Meraki organization ID and name, then Assign client for the intended records.
  5. Use Sync now, inspect Sync history, and confirm a known device is attributed to the right client.
The usual mapping unit is the Meraki organization ID. The connector can also operate with a deployment-configured network scope, showing Organization / Network records with network IDs. The current add form exposes only the API key, not a network-scope selector. If you need a different boundary, confirm that configuration with your deployment administrator before linking records. Several Meraki networks within one organization must not be assumed to be separate Alignr clients under organization-level mapping.

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Verify one real result

Choose a known device in a mapped client and compare its model, firmware and source context with Meraki. Then inspect the control you want to use. Meraki does not supply the RMM-management, OS-platform, device-check-in or network-uplink predicates through this connector. Do not keep rotating a valid key to make an unsupported observation appear. Checkpoint: the intended organization is mapped, collection completes, and the observations support the specific control you intend to evaluate. Then run the reviewed standard.

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Troubleshoot the boundary that failed

Follow integration maintenance to rotate or retire the connection. This walkthrough is checked against current Alignr code and Cisco’s published instructions; completing your own mapping and collection checkpoints is still required.