Deploy the Agent via Jamf Pro

This guide walks you through deploying the ActivTrak agent to Mac devices using Jamf Pro. You'll configure necessary permissions, upload required files, and create policies to automate the deployment process.

Contents

• Before you begin
• Enroll devices with Jamf
• Suppress background items notifications
• Create and upload the PPPC profile
• Download and upload the ActivTrak Agent
• Create a deployment policy
• Set up Smart Groups (recommended)
• Force a policy check (optional)
• Get help

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following in place:

• Jamf Pro subscription (Jamf Now will not work)
• Devices enrolled with Jamf
• ActivTrak paid subscription
• MacOS 12.0 (Monterey) or newer

Note: This configuration does not support screen-capturing alarms or Screen View due to Mac security controls.

Enroll devices with Jamf

Jamf offers several methods for enrolling devices once your instance is set up. For detailed instructions, see Jamf Pro Product Documentation.

Suppress background items notifications

On macOS Ventura and newer, macOS displays a notification when ActivTrak (or any application that runs in the background) is running. You can suppress these notifications by uploading a configuration profile.

1. Download the disablebackgrounditemsnotification.mobileconfig file.
2. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Configuration Profiles.
3. Click Upload in the top-right corner and select the downloaded file.

4. Review the configuration settings. We recommend changing only two settings:
   • Level: Keep this set to "Computer" (not "User")
   • Distribution method: Set to "Install Automatically"

5. Under Scope, assign this profile to the desired computers.

6. The configured Notifications Payload should show the background task management notifications disabled for your target devices.

Create and upload the PPPC profile

The Privacy Preferences Policy Control (PPPC) file grants ActivTrak the necessary permissions to function on macOS devices.

Download the PPPC file

Download the ATPPCv2.mobileconfig file. For more information about this file, see How to Deploy the ActivTrak Agent on macOS Sequoia.

Important: You can modify this PPPC file using most text editing tools. However, once edits are made, ActivTrak cannot guarantee functionality. By default, we accept Accessibility permissions and deny screen recording.

Upload the PPPC to Jamf Pro

1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Configuration Profiles.
2. Click Upload in the top-right corner and select the PPPC file you downloaded.
3. Review the profile settings. For simplicity and to ensure proper functionality, we don't recommend making additional changes to this profile. If you need additional settings, create a second profile.
4. Change these two recommended settings:
   • Level: Keep this set to "Computer" (not "User")
   • Distribution method: Set to "Install Automatically"
5. Click Save to upload the profile.

Download and upload the ActivTrak agent

Download the agent

1. Log in to app.activtrak.com.
2. Click Download Agent in the top-right corner.
3. Select Download Agent for Mac from the dropdown menu if you're on a PC.

Note: By default, only administrators can see the Download Agent button. Non-admins can be granted access via Settings > Account Configuration.

For more details about first-time installations, see Install the Agent.

Upload the agent to Jamf

1. In Jamf Pro, click Settings > Computer Management > Packages.
3. Click New and upload the .PKG file you downloaded from app.activtrak.com.
4. Name the package (the end user won't see this name).
5. Leave the Info and Notes fields empty unless you want to add internal documentation.
6. No manifest file or additional scripts are needed.
7. Click Save to upload the agent.

Important: Do not change the filename of the uploaded file.

Create a deployment policy

Now that you've uploaded the PPPC and agent installer, you need to create a policy that deploys the agent to your devices.

1. In Jamf Pro, navigate to Computers > Policies.
2. Click New in the top-right corner.

3. Configure the policy with these key settings:
   • Name: Enter a descriptive name (end users won't see this)
   • Trigger: Set to "Recurring Check-in"
   • Execution Frequency: Set to "Ongoing"
4. Click Packages in the left sidebar, then click Configure.
5. Locate and select the ActivTrak package you created in Step 3.
6. Click Scope in the top row.

7. Choose which computers should receive this policy:
   • All Computers: Applies the policy to all enrolled devices
   • Specific Computers: Select individual machines or a Smart Computer Group (recommended)

Note: If you select "Specific Computers," only previously enrolled machines will be available. You'll need to edit the policy later to add newly enrolled devices.

Set up Smart Groups (recommended)

To prevent Jamf from constantly uninstalling and reinstalling ActivTrak, we recommend creating a Smart Group. Smart Groups dynamically add or remove computers based on specific triggers, ensuring Jamf only attempts to reinstall the ActivTrak agent when it's not detected.

Create an Extension Attribute

Extension Attributes instruct Jamf's agent to search for a specific trigger that determines whether a computer should be added to or removed from the Smart Group.

1. Navigate to Settings > Computer Management > Extension Attributes.
2. Click New to create a new attribute.

3. Name the attribute (for example, "Check for AT").

4. Set the Input Type to "Script".
5. Copy and paste this script into the script field:

#!/bin/bash

# check for process

PROCESS=$( pgrep scthostp )

#see if process is running

if [[ -z "$PROCESS" ]]; then

    RESULT="Not Running"

else

    RESULT="Running"

fi

#report results

echo "${RESULT}"

This script returns either "Running" or "Not Running" to Jamf, which determines whether a machine should be enrolled in or removed from the Smart Group that installs the ActivTrak agent.

Create a Smart Computer Group

1. Navigate to Computers > Smart Computer Groups.
2. Click New.
3. Name the group (for example, "ActivTrak Not Installed").

4. Under the Criteria tab, configure the following:
   • AND/OR: (
   • Criteria: Select the Extension Attribute you created (for example, "Check for AT")
   • Operator: is
   • Value: Not Running
   • Close with: )
5. Click Save.

Update your deployment policy

1. Return to the ActivTrak deployment policy you created in Step 4.
2. Click Scope in the top row.
3. Under Target Computers, select "Specific computers".
4. Under Computer Groups, select the Smart Group you just created.
5. Set the Execution Frequency to "Ongoing".
6. Click Save.

Once saved, Jamf will apply the policy based on the trigger event you selected. The Smart Group ensures that Jamf installs the agent only on devices where it's not already running.

Force a policy check (optional)

If you want to force a policy check before the trigger event normally occurs, you can do this manually from a target computer.

1. Open Terminal on the target Mac.
2. Run this command:

sudo jamf policy

3. Enter the administrator password when prompted.

The Jamf agent will check for any policy updates. Policy changes may take several minutes to become available, and there may be a five-minute cooldown period between policy checks.

Successful installation example

When the installation completes successfully, you'll see output similar to this:

johnsmith@John-Smith-MBP ~ % sudo jamf policy

Checking for policies triggered by "recurring check-in" for user "johnsmith"...

Executing Policy install ActivTrak at

Downloading ATMacXXXXXX_2gbQaFAfA6ab_79177957720.pkg...

Verifying package integrity...

Installing ATMacXXXXXX_2gbQaFAfA6ab_79177957720.pkg...

Successfully installed ATMacXXXXXX_2gbQaFAfA6ab_79177957720.pkg.

Checking for patches...

No patch policies were found.

Submitting log to https://activtraknfr.jamfcloud.com/

Get help

If you have questions about this deployment process, contact support@ActivTrak.com for assistance.