diff --git a/.dockerignore b/.dockerignore
index 617f7015971b..434231fce9fc 100644
--- a/.dockerignore
+++ b/.dockerignore
@@ -7,6 +7,5 @@
 !MANIFEST.in
 !README.rst
 !setup.py
-!synctl
 
 **/__pycache__
diff --git a/MANIFEST.in b/MANIFEST.in
index f1e295e5837f..d744c090acde 100644
--- a/MANIFEST.in
+++ b/MANIFEST.in
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-include synctl
 include LICENSE
 include VERSION
 include *.rst
diff --git a/changelog.d/12140.misc b/changelog.d/12140.misc
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..33a21a29f0f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/12140.misc
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Move `synctl` into `synapse._scripts` and expose as an entry point.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/docker/Dockerfile b/docker/Dockerfile
index 327275a9cae6..24b5515eb99e 100644
--- a/docker/Dockerfile
+++ b/docker/Dockerfile
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ RUN \
     && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 # Copy just what we need to pip install
-COPY MANIFEST.in README.rst setup.py synctl /synapse/
+COPY MANIFEST.in README.rst setup.py /synapse/
 COPY synapse/__init__.py /synapse/synapse/__init__.py
 COPY synapse/python_dependencies.py /synapse/synapse/python_dependencies.py
 
diff --git a/docs/postgres.md b/docs/postgres.md
index 0562021da526..de4e2ba4b756 100644
--- a/docs/postgres.md
+++ b/docs/postgres.md
@@ -153,9 +153,9 @@ database file (typically `homeserver.db`) to another location. Once the
 copy is complete, restart synapse. For instance:
 
 ```sh
-./synctl stop
+synctl stop
 cp homeserver.db homeserver.db.snapshot
-./synctl start
+synctl start
 ```
 
 Copy the old config file into a new config file:
@@ -192,10 +192,10 @@ Once that has completed, change the synapse config to point at the
 PostgreSQL database configuration file `homeserver-postgres.yaml`:
 
 ```sh
-./synctl stop
+synctl stop
 mv homeserver.yaml homeserver-old-sqlite.yaml
 mv homeserver-postgres.yaml homeserver.yaml
-./synctl start
+synctl start
 ```
 
 Synapse should now be running against PostgreSQL.
diff --git a/docs/turn-howto.md b/docs/turn-howto.md
index eba7ca6124a5..3a2cd04e36a9 100644
--- a/docs/turn-howto.md
+++ b/docs/turn-howto.md
@@ -238,8 +238,9 @@ After updating the homeserver configuration, you must restart synapse:
 
   * If you use synctl:
     ```sh
-    cd /where/you/run/synapse
-    ./synctl restart
+    # Depending on how Synapse is installed, synctl may already be on
+    # your PATH. If not, you may need to activate a virtual environment.
+    synctl restart
     ```
   * If you use systemd:
     ```sh
diff --git a/docs/upgrade.md b/docs/upgrade.md
index f9be3ac6bc15..0d0bb066ee63 100644
--- a/docs/upgrade.md
+++ b/docs/upgrade.md
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ this document.
     3.  Restart Synapse:
 
         ```bash
-        ./synctl restart
+        synctl restart
         ```
 
 To check whether your update was successful, you can check the running
@@ -85,6 +85,27 @@ process, for example:
     dpkg -i matrix-synapse-py3_1.3.0+stretch1_amd64.deb
     ```
 
+# Upgrading to v1.55.0
+
+## `synctl` script has been moved
+
+The `synctl` script
+[has been made](https://github.com/matrix-org/synapse/pull/12140) an
+[entry point](https://packaging.python.org/en/latest/specifications/entry-points/)
+and no longer exists at the root of Synapse's source tree. If you wish to use
+`synctl` to manage your homeserver, you should invoke `synctl` directly, e.g. 
+`synctl start` instead of `./synctl start` or `/path/to/synctl start`. 
+
+You will need to ensure `synctl` is on your `PATH`.
+  - This is automatically the case when using
+    [Debian packages](https://packages.matrix.org/debian/) or
+    [docker images](https://hub.docker.com/r/matrixdotorg/synapse)
+    provided by Matrix.org.
+  - When installing from a wheel, sdist, or PyPI, a `synctl` executable is added 
+    to your Python installation's `bin`. This should be on your `PATH`
+    automatically, though you might need to activate a virtual environment
+    depending on how you installed Synapse.
+
 # Upgrading to v1.54.0
 
 ## Legacy structured logging configuration removal
diff --git a/scripts-dev/lint.sh b/scripts-dev/lint.sh
index 2f5f2c356674..c063fafa973b 100755
--- a/scripts-dev/lint.sh
+++ b/scripts-dev/lint.sh
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ else
           "synapse" "docker" "tests"
           # annoyingly, black doesn't find these so we have to list them
           "scripts-dev"
-          "contrib" "synctl" "setup.py" "synmark" "stubs" ".ci"
+          "contrib" "setup.py" "synmark" "stubs" ".ci"
       )
   fi
 fi
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 318df16766ec..439ed75d7282 100755
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -155,6 +155,7 @@ def exec_file(path_segments):
             # Application
             "synapse_homeserver = synapse.app.homeserver:main",
             "synapse_worker = synapse.app.generic_worker:main",
+            "synctl = synapse._scripts.synctl:main",
             # Scripts
             "export_signing_key = synapse._scripts.export_signing_key:main",
             "generate_config = synapse._scripts.generate_config:main",
@@ -177,6 +178,5 @@ def exec_file(path_segments):
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9",
         "Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10",
     ],
-    scripts=["synctl"],
     cmdclass={"test": TestCommand},
 )
diff --git a/synctl b/synapse/_scripts/synctl.py
similarity index 100%
rename from synctl
rename to synapse/_scripts/synctl.py
diff --git a/tox.ini b/tox.ini
index 04d282a705af..f1f96b27ea14 100644
--- a/tox.ini
+++ b/tox.ini
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ lint_targets =
     scripts-dev
     stubs
     contrib
-    synctl
     synmark
     .ci
     docker