Actions PRO

About Pro features: All the features described here are available only in the PRO version, except for simple ActionSet on a button click with no triggers or conditions, SaveInputs and Log actions.

You can execute an action in Octory by inserting them in an ActionSet. An ActionSet can contain several actions of several types. You can specify a Condition for an action to be executed conditionally.

To specify the action type, fill the required key Type. You can also specify a condition under which the action is executed. The current available actions list is on the left

In the tutorial An Octory Pro tour, you can learn how to deal with some actions.

Action Set

An ActionSet is a dictionary. It has an Actions array key which holds the action you want to execute. They will be executed depending on the triggers and the condition you specify. Triggers are specified in the Triggers array key. You can also use a Button Component to trigger an ActionSet. In this case, you will not need to specify triggers for the set to be executed. You can specify all your sets in the ActionSets section of the configuration file.

When the set is triggered, it will evaluate its condition to know whether it should execute its actions or not. If no condition is specified, the set will execute its actions.

Keys

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`Chained`, `Parallel`	Required
Condition	String	-
Triggers	Array(Triggers)	-	Required
Actions	Array(Actions)	-	Required
ContinueAfterFailure	Boolean	-

Detail

Type Required

Type: String
Possible values: Parallel, Chained
Explanation: With Parallel, all the actions of the set will be executed without waiting for the previous one to be executed. With Chained, you specify that you want to wait for each action to be executed before to execute the next one. It is useful for SendRequests or ExecuteScripts actions for example which run asynchronously and can populate some variables inside Octory when they complete. Thus, by specifying Chained, you can wait for an action to populate a variable and then execute an other action which needs this variable.

Condition

Type: String
Explanation: Conditionally execute the actions in the set. More information on conditions.

Triggers Required

Type: Array(Triggers)
Explanation: Let Octory know when to execute the actions in the set. Whenever a trigger in the array is met, the application will try to execute the set, accordingly to its condition if present.

Actions Required

Type: Array(Actions)
Explanation: The actions that the set will execute when triggered, and if the condition is verified (if present).

ContinueAfterFailure

Type: Boolean
Explanation: If set to true, when using a Chained set, the next action will be executed even if the current one did not terminate successfully (e.g. an error occured). Default is false.

Condition of the `ActionSet` Vs. conditions of the `Action`s in the set

As you can specify a Condition for an ActionSet, and a condition for each Action the set holds, be aware that if the condition of the set is evaluated as true the action will not be executed if its own condition is evaluated as false. The priority is put to the action condition, as it is more specific. That said, if the condition of the set is false, none of its actions will be executed.
This process is summarised in the following chart for a chained ActionSet.

Triggers

There are several ways to trigger an ActionSet. Here are the available triggers.

Name	Event
Launch	The set will be executed when the application is just launched
Termination	The set will be executed when the application is about to be terminated
NextButtonClick	The set will be triggered when the Next button of the navigation view is clicked. The set is executed regardless of the validity of the slide. You can conditionally execute the set with a condition on the current slide validity by using the CURRENT_SLIDE_VALID placeholder.
PreviousButtonClick	The set will be triggered when the Previous button of the navigation view is clicked
Update(VariableName)	The set will be triggered when the variable defined as VariableName is updated. You can then conditionally execute the set by setting a condition on the VariableName variable.

Examples

The following set will be triggered when the placeholder INSTALLATION_COMPLETE is updated, and executed only if the installation of all monitors (apps, mandatory files) is complete (i.e. INSTALLATION_COMPLETE is true). It holds an action to display an alert to the user, and one to play a custom sound.
Note: INSTALLATION_COMPLETE and OCTORY_DIRECTORY are placeholders offered by the application.

<dict>
	<key>Type</key>
	<string>Parallel</string>
	<key>Condition</key>
	<string>Update(INSTALLATION_COMPLETE)</string>
	<key>Triggers</key>
	<array>
		<string>Termination</string>
	</array>
	<key>Actions</key>
	<array>
		<dict>
			<key>Type</key>
			<string>DisplayAlert</string>
			<key>Title</key>
			<string>Your ${DEVICE_MODEL_NAME} is ready</string>
			<key>Message</key>
			<string>You may now close the window with the "Quit" button</string>
			<key>Style</key>
			<string>Informational</string>
      </dict>
      <dict>
			<key>Type</key>
			<string>PlaySound</string>
			<key>SoundNameOrFilePath</key>
			<string>${OCTORY_DIRECTORY}/Resources/Sounds/finish.mp3</string>
		</dict>
	</array>
</dict>

The following set will be triggered when the user clicks on one of the navigation buttons, and will execute a command to retrieve the local IP address. Then, it will send an API request to the MDM to store this IP address (the request does not appear). As the SendRequest action uses the variable LocalIP updated by the ExecuteCommand action, the Type of the set is "Chained".

<dict>
  <key>Type</key>
  <string>Chained</string>
  <key>Condition</key>
  <string>INSTALLATION_COMPLETE</string>
  <key>Triggers</key>
  <array>
    <string>PreviousButtonClick</string>
    <string>NextButtonClick</string>
  </array>
  <key>Actions</key>
  <array>
    <dict>
      <key>Type</key>
      <string>ExecuteCommand</string>
      <key>Command</key>
      <string>ifconfig | grep "inet " | head -n 2 | tail -n 1 | cut -d " " -f 2</string>
      <key>Variable</key>
      <string>LocalIP</string>
    </dict>
    <dict>
      <key>Type</key>
      <string>SendRequest</string>
      <key>Request</key>
      <dict>
        <key>ParentRequest</key>
        <string>StoreLocalIP</string>
        <key>Body</key>
        <dict>
          <key>LocalIPAddress</key>
          <string>${LocalIP}</string>
        </dict>
      </dict>
    </dict>
  </array>
</dict>

Actions

The following explains each action in detail.

Log

Write text and variables in Octory log. Useful when debugging

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`Log`	Required
Message	String	-	Required

Detail

Message Required

Type: String
Explanation: The message to write

Example

<dict>
  <key>Type</key>
  <string>Log</string>
  <key>Message</key>
  <string>I'm afraid of no ghost</string>
</dict>

SaveInputs

Save the user inputs into the specified file. More info on user inputs.

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`SaveInputs`	Required

Example

<dict>
	<key>Type</key>
	<string>SaveInputs</string>
</dict>

SendRequest

Send an Api request.

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`SendRequest`	Required
Request	Request	-	Required

Detail

Request Required

Type: Request
Explanation: The request to send

Example

Retrieve the name of the computer with the id 20 from a Jamf MDM server, using the classic Jamf API.

<key>Type</key>
<string>SendRequest</string>
<key>Request</key>
<dict>
    <key>Endpoint</key>
    <string>https://mycompany.jamfcloud.com/JSSResource/computers/id/20</string>
    <key>MDM</key>
    <string>Jamf</string>
    <key>VariableReadingPaths</key>
    <dict>
      <key>ComputerName</key>
      <string>computer->general->name</string>
    </dict>
</dict>

Authentication

You can ask Octory to execute API requests to the supported APIs. The currently supported APIs are:
- Jamf
- Jamf Pro
- Airwatch (Workspace ONE)

To provide credentials to Octory to let it authenticate when making the request, you have to launch the application providing your base–64 encoded credentials as arguments. The application will then store them securely in the system keychain. This is done through the Helper and thus it has to be running whenever you use API credentials. You can learn here how to manage the Helper installation.

Once you have provided a credential, you will not need to provide it the next time as it will be stored in the system keychain. That said, if you provide the same credential, the previous one will be overwritten. Here are the arguments:

API	Authentication	Option name (long)	Note
Jamf	Base–64 Basic Auth	`jamfBasicAuth`	Jamf credentials token encoded in base–64
JamfPro	Base–64 Basic Auth	`jamfProBasicAuth`	Jamf Pro credentials token encoded in base–64. After having retrieved the token, Octory will request a session token (bearer token) to avoid to use your credentials and thus to reduce security risks.
Airwatch	Base–64 Basic Auth	`airwatchBasicAuth`	Airwatch credentials token encoded in base–64
Airwatch	Header ‘aw-tenant-code’	`airwatchApiKey`	API key required to make Airwatch API calls. How to get your key

Examples

For example, to give to the application your Jamf and Jamf Pro credentials, you will run once:

/Library/Application Support/Octory/Octory.app/Contents/MacOS/Octory \
--jamfBasicAuth [YOUR_JAMF_CREDENTIAL_TOKEN] \
--jamfProBasicAuth [YOUR_JAMF_PRO_CREDENTIAL_TOKEN]

Later, if you want to update your credentials, run the application the same way:

/Library/Application Support/Octory/Octory.app/Contents/MacOS/Octory \
--jamfProBasicAuth [NEW_JAMF_PRO_CREDENTIAL_TOKEN]

Get your base–64 encoded credentials

To get your base–64 encoded credentials token, simply run

echo -n username:password | base64

Example (do not use this password in real life)

echo -n jdoe:toto123456789 | base64

Specify a request

You can specify a request directly in the action or in the APIRequests as models, and then use them in the action.

Name	Type	Possible values
Endpoint	String	-
Method	String	`POST`, `GET`, `PUT`, `DELETE`
Headers	Dictionary	-
Parameters	Dictionary	-
Body	Dictionary	-
ParentRequest	Dictionary or String	-
MDM	String	-
VariableReadingPaths	Dictionary	-

Detail

Endpoint

Type: String
Explanation: Request endpoint URL. Is added to the base URL you can provide in the APIRequests section

Method

Type: String
Possible values: POST, GET, PUT, DELETE
Explanation: The HTTP method. Default is GET

Headers

Type: Dictionary
Explanation: Let you specify additional HTTP headers if required by the API

Parameters

Type: Dictionary
Explanation: Let you specify additional URL paramters if required by the API

Body

Type: Dictionary
Explanation: Key/Values pairs Data you want to send as the body of the request.

ParentRequest

Type: String
Explanation: The parent request whose fields are to be reused if the same fields in the request are not specified. If no field has to be modified, the parent request can be specified as a String, with the parent name for value.

MDM

Type: String
Explanation: MDM Api to target. This provide the heavy lifting to directly use those APIs

VariableReadingPaths

Type: Dictionary
Explanation: Allows you to specify a path in a received data object like computer->general->name and to associate a variable name that can then be used within Octory. Use [Index] to indicate that you want to target the value in an array at the index, and [#] to get a dictionary or an array count.
See more examples and explanations (the separator "->" is replaced by a point ".")

Examples

Request to Jamf API with full information.

<dict>
	<key>Endpoint</key>
	<string>https://mycompany.jamfcloud.com/JSSResource/computers/id/20</string>
  <key>MDM</key>
	<string>Jamf</string>
	<key>VariableReadingPaths</key>
	<dict>
		<key>ComputerName</key>
		<string>computer->general->name</string>
	</dict>
</dict>

Get the computer name of the user identifier by the id 20 and store it in the ComputerName variable.

The same request when you have specified a DefaultMDM and the JamfBaseURL keys in the APIRequests section.

<dict>
	<key>Endpoint</key>
	<string>computers/id/20</string>
	<key>VariableReadingPaths</key>
	<dict>
		<key>ComputerName</key>
		<string>computer->general->name</string>
	</dict>
</dict>

Get the computer name of the user identifier by the id 20 and store it in the ComputerName variable.

By specifying the keys mentioned above, you can easily define other Jamf API requests.

<dict>
	<key>Endpoint</key>
	<string>accounts</string>
	<key>VariableReadingPaths</key>
	<dict>
		<key>FirstUserName</key>
		<string>accounts->users->[0]->name</string>
    <key>SecondUserName</key>
		<string>accounts->users->[1]->name</string>
	</dict>
</dict>

Retrieve first and second users in the users array and store their respective names in FirstUserName and SecondUserName

When defining request in the APIRequests as models, you can reuse them in an action. For example, if you have defined a “GetComputerName” request:

<dict>
	<key>Type</key>
	<string>SendRequest</string>
	<key>Request</key>
  <string>GetComputerName</string>
</dict>

Retrieve the departments count and store it in the variable DepartmentsCount.

<dict>
	<key>Endpoint</key>
	<string>departments</string>
	<key>VariableReadingPaths</key>
	<dict>
		<key>DepartmentsCount</key>
		<string>departments->[#]</string>
	</dict>
</dict>

You can also override some keys of the parent request “GetComputerName”. Here, we are overriding the Endpoint key value of the parent request “GetComputerName”.

<dict>
	<key>Type</key>
	<string>SendRequest</string>
	<key>Request</key>
  <dict>
    <key>ParentRequest</key>
    <string>GetComputerName</string>
    <key>Endpoint</key>
  	<string>computers/id/5</string>
  </dict>
</dict>

DisplayAlert

Display an alert which can be customized.

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`DisplayAlert`	Required
Title	String	-	Required
Message	String	-	Required
Style	String	`Informational`, `Warning`, `Critical`	Required
ButtonsText	Array(String)	-
Variable	String	-
IconPath	String	-

Detail

Title Required

Type: String
Explanation: The main text of the alert

Message Required

Type: String
Explanation: The sub-text of the alert

Style Required

Type: String
Possible values: Informational, Warning, Critical
Explanation: By setting this value, the alert will change its appearance accordingly. Note that there is now visual difference between Informational and Warning currently in Apple’s library.

ButtonsText

Type: Array(String)
Explanation: You can add up to three buttons to the alert. By adding a string item in the array, you ask to add button with the specified string for text.

Variable

Type: String
Explanation: If set, the application will add a variable with the name you specified. The value of the variable will be the text of the button clicked by the user. Note that if you don’t specify any buttons text, the default button has a “OK” value.

IconPath

Type: String
Explanation: Lets you specifiy a custom icon file path for the alert. Include the file extension.

Examples

Display an alert to inform the user. No buttons are specified, so the only one displayed is the default one with “OK” text.

<dict>
  <key>Type/<key>
  <string>DisplayAlert</string>
  <key>Title</key>
  <string>Kawabunga</string>
  <key>Message</key>
  <string>Let's defeat Schredder!</string>
  <key>Style</key>
  <string>Informational</string>
</dict>

Display an alert with two buttons: “You can go” and “Doesn’t work on me, duh!”, an error style, and a variable UserLetPass

<dict>
  <key>Type<key>
  <string>DisplayAlert</string>
  <key>Title</key>
  <string>Let us pass</string>
  <key>Message</key>
  <string>These are not the Droids you are looking for</string>
  <key>Style</key>
  <string>Error</string>
  <key>Variable</key>
  <string>UserLetPass</string>
  <key>ButtonsText</key>
	<array>
		<string>You can go</string>
		<string>Doesn't work on me, duh!</string>
	</array>
</dict>

If the user clicks on “You can go”, Octory will create (or update if it already exists) the variable UserLetPass with the value You can go.

ExecuteCommand

This action make the application execute a command like in the terminal. Those commands will be executed with root rights thanks to the Helper. You can learn here how to manage the Helper installation.

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`ExecuteCommand`	Required
Command	String	-	Required
Variable	String	-

Detail

Command Required

Type: String
Explanation: The command to execute

Variable

Type: String
Explanation: When specified, the output of the command will be stored inside a variable with the given name.

Examples

This action will read out loud a message to the user.

<dict>
  <key>Type<key>
  <string>ExecuteCommand</string>
  <key>Command</key>
  <string>say -v Alex "As always, should you or any of your ${Company} Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This disc will self-destruct in ten seconds. Good luck, ${USER_FIRST_NAME}.</string>
</dict>

The next example shows how to save the first configuration profile on the Mac into the variable ProfileIdentifier. Note that the profile command requires root rights, which is not a problem since it is executed by the privileged Helper.

<dict>
	<key>Type</key>
	<string>ExecuteCommand</string>
	<key>Command</key>
	<string>profiles -P | head -n 1 | cut -d "." -f 3</string>
	<key>Variable</key>
	<string>ProfileIdentifier</string>
<dict>

ExecuteScript

This actions takes a script path to execute and execute it, passing it arguments if specified. Those script will be executed with root rights thanks to the Helper. You can learn here how to manage the Helper installation.

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`ExecuteScript`	Required
ScriptPath	String	-	Required
Arguments	array(String)	-
Variable	String	-

Detail

ScriptPath Required

Type: String
Explanation: The path to the script to execute

Arguments

Type: Array(String)
Explanation: Specify here all the arguments needed for the command Note that you can write several arguments in one string. It’s up to your preference. When writing several arguments in one string, you have to respect the classic quoting when specifying paths with spaces. Don’t hesitate to use another string in the array for large arguments

Variable

Type: String
Explanation: When specified, the output of the command will be stored inside a variable with the given name.

Examples

The following example will execute a script which takes an argument and rename the computer based on this argument. The variable UserChoiceComputerName can be asked to the user with a TextInputComponent.

<dict>
  <key>Type<key>
  <string>ExecuteScript</string>
  <key>ScriptPath</key>
  <string>${ScriptsFolder}/changeComputerName.sh</string>
  <key>Arguments</key>
	<array>
		<string>${UserChoiceComputerName}</string>
	</array>
</dict>

ExecuteJamfPolicy

This action will take the name of a Jamf policy and execute it. Thanks to the Helper, Octory will be able to execute the Jamf policy which requires root rights. You can learn here how to manage the Helper installation.

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`ExecuteJamfPolicy`	Required
Name	String	-	Required

Detail

Name Required

Type: String
Explanation: The name of the Jamf policy to execute

Examples

Execute the Jamf policy named StartEnrolling

<dict>
  <key>Type<key>
  <string>ExecuteJamfPolicy</string>
  <key>Name</key>
  <string>StartEnrolling</string>
</dict>

Termination action

Send an Apple event to the computers. You just need to specify the action type:
- RestartComputer
- ShutdownComputer
- LogoutUser
- AsleepComputer

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`RestartComputer`, `ShutdownComputer` `LogoutUser`, `AsleepComputer`	Required

Examples

For example, to restart the computer:

<dict>
  <key>Type<key>
  <string>RestartComputer</string>
</dict>

PlaySound

Play a system or a custom sound (MP3, MP4, WAV). You can find the system sounds list at /System/Library/Sounds/.

Summary

Name	Type	Possible values	Required
Type	String	`PlaySound`	Required
SoundNameOrFilePath	String	-	Required

Detail

SoundNameOrFilePath Required

Type: String
Explanation: The system name of the sound to play, or a path to a sound file to play. Empty value will play system sound “Hero”

Examples

Play a custom sound in the file path {ResourcesFolderPath}/Sounds/welcome-user.mp3. Note the usage of the custom variable “ResourcesFolderPath”

<dict>
  <key>Type<key>
  <string>PlaySound</string>
  <key>SoundNameOrFilePath<key>
  <string>${ResourcesFolderPath}/Sounds/welcome-user.mp3</string>
</dict>

Play the system sound named “Bottle”

<dict>
  <key>Type<key>
  <string>PlaySound</string>
  <key>SoundNameOrFilePath<key>
  <string>Bottle</string>
</dict>

Actions PRO

Action Set

Keys

Summary

Detail

Condition of the ActionSet Vs. conditions of the Actions in the set

Triggers

Examples

Actions

Log

Summary

Detail

Example

SaveInputs

Summary

Example

SendRequest

Summary

Detail

Example

Authentication

Examples

Get your base–64 encoded credentials

Specify a request

Detail

Examples

DisplayAlert

Summary

Detail

Examples

ExecuteCommand

Summary

Detail

Examples

ExecuteScript

Summary

Detail

Examples

ExecuteJamfPolicy

Summary

Detail

Examples

Termination action

Summary

Examples

PlaySound

Summary

Detail

Examples

Condition of the `ActionSet` Vs. conditions of the `Action`s in the set