Introduction
Jamf Auto Update is a cloud-based service that integrates seamlessly with Jamf Pro to provide fully automated application packaging, deployment, installation, upgrading and uninstallation of over 800 titles to managed Mac computers. All without the need for manual packaging and uploading, or the overhead of continuous Jamf Pro administration.
Jamf Auto Update is designed to bring the App Store-like update experience to third-party applications outside of the Mac App Store. In addition to keeping hundreds of applications updated, this framework can be leveraged to provide in-place macOS upgrades for managed Intel-based Mac devices, with minimal configuration required by Jamf Pro administrators.
The purpose of this document is to provide a guide on how to use the service.
For installation steps, please see the Jamf Auto Update - Installation Guide.
Please note: The service does not include re-use of components within
additional Jamf Pro instances. If you are required to deploy Jamf Auto
Update to additional instances of Jamf Pro, please contact our support team.
Client components
In order for managed Mac computers to communicate and access the Jamf Auto Update service, there are several components that need to be installed.
For the full installation guide, please click here. For version-specific upgrade information, please click here.
Requirements
Jamf Auto Update compatibility with Apple operating system (macOS) releases is generally based on an N-2 support policy. This means that Jamf Auto Update will support the current major version (‘N’) and the two previous major versions (‘-2’) within either the Recommended or Minimum Supported compatibility levels.
For further information, please refer to our software requirements page, here.
Jamf Auto Update Catalog Browser
The Jamf Auto Update Catalog Browser application can be used to browse the latest titles and versions included in the library. This is an application which is provided as part of the subscription.
It’s recommended that Jamf Auto Update Catalog Browser is installed during the initial installation of , and the process is detailed here.
With Jamf Auto Update Catalog Browser installed on managed Mac computer, please proceed with the following:
- Within the Finder, navigate to /Applications and launch Jamf Auto Update Catalog Browser.app
- Once launched, you will be presented with the follow information:
- As shown above (Figure 2), a list of available software titles will be presented to you which will include:
- Application name
- Jamf Auto Update name
- Application version
- Minimum OS Version
- Maximum OS Version
- Required Processor
- Items marked with an asterisk (*) indicate additional configuration options, which our support team can provide further assistance with. These can include:
- Licensing configuration
- Content Filter (10.15+)
- Managed Login Items (13.0+)
- Notifications (10.15+)
- PPPCP (10.14+)
- Screen Recording (10.15+)
- Kernel Extension (10.13+)
- System Extension (10.15+)
A detailed report of all titles can be exported either by selecting ‘Window > Export’ or by using the ⌘E keyboard shortcut.
Creating your first Jamf Auto Update policy
- To find out the name of a title to install/uninstall, either:
- Launch Jamf Auto Update Catalog Browser and find the software title you would like to automate. Make a note of the Jamf Auto Update Name for the title you wish to install/uninstall..
- Navigate to the Jamf Auto Update - Application Catalog, and download the CSV linked at the bottom of the article. Make a note of the Jamf Auto Update Name for the title you wish to install/uninstall.
- If required, create a Smart Group with your desired criteria (i.e. has/does not have) to be used for scoping.
- Create your Policy (see Policy configuration) ensuring the correct Smart Groups are specified as your target.
- Configure your Policy with the desired frequency (see Policy configuration).
- Configure your Policy with your desired trigger to automate the installation or uninstallation process.
- Configure your Policy without a specified Jamf trigger and enabled for Self Service, for a user-initiated installation process.
Policy configuration
The Jamf Auto Update service is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing and supported Jamf Pro workflows, including Smart Group scoping and all available policy configuration options, such as frequency, limitations, exclusions etc. Fundamentally, the Jamf Server controls when and what is required to be installed/uninstalled on a managed macOS client.
Jamf Auto Update is intelligent and does not require complex Smart Group criteria. As an example, you could simply have a Smart Group for ‘All Managed Clients’ Computers with the only criteria being they have been enrolled via a ‘Pre-Stage’.
This policy could then be made available to the managed Mac computers in scope, and if someone was to run the policy manually either the title would be installed/uninstalled or they would be advised that they are running the latest version of the title.
Additionally, when Jamf Auto Update has installed or uninstalled a title, it runs a recon to keep Jamf Pro updated and means that the Jamf Auto Update policies do not perform this step themselves.
To review the configuration options available, click here.
Our recommendation is to create two policies for each title, one to make the item available in Self Service, and another to ensure that any installed title is kept up to date. Over the next few sections we’ll show how to create an Jamf Auto Update policy to be run via Self Service and another to be run on an on-going trigger.
For more information on the policy script parameters, please click here.
Creating a Self Service Jamf Auto Update Policy
Please see the below for an example of how to create an Jamf Auto Update Policy, for Self Service::
- In your Jamf Pro instance, click Computers in the sidebar.
- In the Content Management section, click Policies.
- Click the + New button.
- In the Options tab, click General.
- Set the following:
- Display Name: Jamf Auto Update - Google Chrome
- Enabled: Check
- Category: Jamf Auto Update
- Execution Frequency: Ongoing
- In the Options tab, click Scripts.Click Configure.
- Click Add to the right of the Jamf Auto Update.py.
- Set the value of Add to installs (Parameter 4) to: GoogleChrome
- Click the Scope tab:
- Click Targets.
- Click + Add.
- Scope as required.
- Click Done.
- Click Save.
- Click the Self Service tab.
- Set the following:
- Make the policy available in Self Service: Check
- Self Service Display Name: Jamf Auto Update - Google Chrome
- Button Name Before Initiation: Request.
- Button Name After Initiation: Request.
- Setting of the other items is optional.
- Click Save.
When this policy is triggered, there should be one of three below outcomes:
- The latest version of Google Chrome is installed.
- Jamf Auto Update determines that the latest version of Google Chrome is already installed.
- An older version of Google Chrome is installed, but it’s running. And so Jamf Auto Update will not forcibly install the latest version of Google Chrome.
With the Jamf Auto Updates default configuration, the user that triggered the policy should receive notifications advising them of the above. But this is all customisable via Jamf Auto Update’s configuration.
Creating an ongoing Jamf Auto Update Policy
Please see the below for an example of how to create an ongoingJamf Auto Update Policy::
- In your Jamf Pro instance, click Computers in the sidebar.
- In the Content Management section, click Policies.
- Click the + New button.
- In the Options tab, click General.
- Set the following:
- Display Name:: Jamf Auto Update - Google Chrome
- Enabled: Check
- Category: Jamf Auto Update Ongoing
- Trigger: check Recurring Check-in
- Execution Frequency: Once every week
- In the Options tab, click Scripts.
- Click Configure.
- Click Add to the right of the Jamf Auto Update.py.
- Set the value of Add to installs (Parameter 4) to: GoogleChrome
- Click the Scope tab:
- Click Targets.
- Click + Add.
- Scope as required.
- Click Done.
- Click Save.
- Click Save.
When this policy is triggered, there should be one of three below outcomes:
- The latest version of Google Chrome is installed.
- Jamf Auto Update determines that the latest version of Google Chrome is already installed.
- An older version of Google Chrome is installed, but it’s running. And so Jamf Auto Update will not forcibly install the latest version of Google Chrome.
With Jamf Auto Update’s default configuration, outcomes 1 and 3 should result in a notification being posted to the logged in user. But this is all customisable via Jamf Auto Update’s configuration.
Ongoing weekly policies like this are what we would recommend the majority of Jamf Auto Update’s policies are created as.
This allows the Jamf Pro administrator to “set and forget” policies, and if a title has a new release due to a security vulnerability etc., then the policy can be flushed, meaning it will run once more at the next check-in.
Due to the additional metadata Jamf Auto Update holds about a title, a smart group to scope this policy could either be “All Managed Clients” if designed to run on all clients, or one with criteria like “Has Google Chrome installed” if it’s designed to be used in conjunction with a Self Service policy for installing Google Chrome.
Reporting
There are a number of checks undertaken to ensure any information or errors that occur on a managed macOS client are logged. These can be used for informational purposes and also for troubleshooting steps.
For more information on Jamf Auto Update’s log messages, click here.
Logging within Jamf (Extension Attribute)
The purpose of the Jamf Auto Update Status extension attribute is to assist in giving an overview as to the Jamf Auto Update status across the computers managed within your Jamf Pro instance.
With this added to Jamf Pro you can check the managed Mac computers record for details on the last Jamf Auto Update run.
Logging within Jamf (Policy Logs)
Logging is also output to the Jamf Auto Update policies log, and as such can be viewed within Jamf Pro.
Client logging
Activity and errors generated are logged locally to disk in the following location on the managed macOS client:
/var/log/JamfAutoUpdate.log
Patch reporting
Jamf Auto Update includes a patch definitions service called Definitions.
The patch definitions within Definitions use the same method to define versioning as Jamf Auto Update.
Adding Definitions to Jamf Pro allows you to report on the patching level of titles deployed via Jamf Auto Update to your Jamf Pro managed computers.
For more information on how to add Definitions to Jamf Pro, please click here.
Further documentation
For information on the settings available to customise the Jamf Auto Update experience, please see the Customising Jamf Auto Update article here.
And for how to rebrand Jamf Auto Update, please see the Rebranding Jamf Auto Update article here. Additional supporting documentation can be found here.
Need further support?
Automate. Simplify. Succeed. If you still require assistance with us or have any further questions, please raise a ticket with our support team.
Alternatively, please see our frequently updated knowledge base articles for reference.