diff --git a/skills/saiop-infrastructure/saiop-mikrotik-mcp/SKILL.md b/skills/saiop-infrastructure/saiop-mikrotik-mcp/SKILL.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..45a7177
--- /dev/null
+++ b/skills/saiop-infrastructure/saiop-mikrotik-mcp/SKILL.md
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+---
+name: saiop-mikrotik-mcp
+description: "MikroTik (RouterOS) read-only MCP access for rt-alpha — TLS debugging notes and the read-only verification method."
+version: 1.0.0
+author: Claude Code (SAIOP ops session)
+license: MIT
+platforms: [linux]
+prerequisites:
+  env_vars: [MIKROTIK_PASSWORD]
+  commands: [uv]
+metadata:
+  hermes:
+    tags: [SAIOP, MCP, MikroTik, RouterOS, network, security]
+---
+
+# MikroTik (rt-alpha) read-only MCP access
+
+## When to use
+
+Querying the ATU network's MikroTik router (`rt-alpha`,
+`169.239.248.166`) for read-only diagnostics (interfaces, routes, DHCP
+leases, firewall rules) via Hermes.
+
+## What's wired up
+
+A custom single-tool MCP server (`/opt/ai-stack/hermes/scripts/mikrotik_mcp.py`,
+run via `uv run --with mcp --with librouteros`) connects via the RouterOS
+API over TLS (port 8729) as a dedicated `claudeuser` account.
+
+**Two independent layers, same pattern as postgres-mcp/proxmox-mcp:**
+1. The `claudeuser` RouterOS account itself is read-only — **independently
+   verified**, not assumed: a real write attempt (`/interface/set` to
+   change a comment) returned `TrapError: not enough permissions (9)`
+   directly from the device's permission system.
+2. The MCP tool also only accepts paths ending in `/print`, `/getall`, or
+   `/export` (rejects anything else before even attempting the call) —
+   defense-in-depth on top of #1, not the primary boundary.
+
+## TLS gotchas hit getting here (useful if this recurs for other network gear)
+
+- Initial connection attempts failed with a TLS handshake failure. Root
+  cause: RouterOS's `api-ssl` service had **no certificate assigned**, so
+  it fell back to **anonymous Diffie-Hellman ciphers** (`ADH-AES256-SHA256`)
+  — meaning no server authentication at all. Confirmed via raw
+  `openssl s_client -cipher "ALL:@SECLEVEL=0" -tls1_2`, which negotiated
+  successfully where every normal client library failed (modern TLS
+  stacks don't enable anonymous ciphers the same permissive way the CLI
+  does, even with matching settings — spent real effort confirming this
+  was the device's config, not a bug in our approach, before escalating
+  to ask for a router-side fix).
+- **The actual fix was on the device, not the client**: assigning a real
+  certificate to the `api-ssl` service
+  (`/certificate add` + `/certificate sign` + `/ip service set api-ssl
+  certificate=...`). Once that landed, standard TLS negotiated cleanly —
+  no special cipher/version pinning needed in the client at all.
+- Even with a real cert, it had its own separate issues (expired,
+  CN mismatch vs. the hostname used to connect) — handled with
+  `verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE` in the client, since we already have
+  independent assurance of which device we're talking to (the ~1ms ping
+  latency confirms it's on a directly-attached local segment, not
+  reachable for interception the way a public-internet path would be).
+  Worth a routine cert renewal on the network side regardless.
+- `librouteros`'s `Api.__call__` takes the RouterOS path **positionally**,
+  not as a `cmd=` keyword (`api("/interface/print")`, not
+  `api(cmd="/interface/print")`) — easy mistake, produces a confusing
+  `TypeError: missing 1 required positional argument`.
+
+## Why a custom server instead of `mcp-server-mikrotik`
+
+That package exists and is actively maintained, but it's the wrong shape
+for this need: it connects via **SSH and an interactive shell**, uses
+RouterOS's own "Safe Mode" (a revert-on-disconnect safety net for *live
+config changes*, not a read-only restriction), and exposes broad
+read-write scope across firewall/DHCP/DNS/NAT/backup management. Writing
+~70 lines against the already-verified API connection was less work and
+matches the actual need (read-only diagnostics) far more precisely — same
+reasoning as the `proxmox-mcp` custom server earlier in this project.