Introducing ConnectWiseAutomateAgent: PowerShell Automation for Your RMM

What This Is

ConnectWiseAutomateAgent is a PowerShell module for managing the ConnectWise Automate (formerly LabTech) Windows agent. It provides 30 functions covering the full agent lifecycle – installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance. Open source, MIT license, available on the PowerShell Gallery.

If you’re a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or IT admin managing Automate agents across Windows endpoints, this module puts all of that into PowerShell where it belongs.

Why PowerShell

PowerShell is the go-to for Windows automation. If you’re managing endpoints at scale, you’re already using it for Active Directory, Group Policy, software deployment, and compliance reporting. ConnectWiseAutomateAgent brings your Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) agent into that same toolchain.

The agent becomes just another manageable component in your existing automation workflow.

What It Covers

Installation - Deploy agents with a single command
Configuration - Manage settings, proxy configuration, and visibility
Troubleshooting - Access logs, test connectivity, restart services
Maintenance - Update, reinstall, or remove agents programmatically

Real-World Example: Mass Deployment

You just onboarded a new client with 150 workstations. The typical approach:

Log into ConnectWise Automate
Generate a deployment link for the client’s location
Push it out via GPO, login script, or your existing deployment tool
Wait for agents to check in
Track down the ones that failed
Troubleshoot and redeploy the failures individually
Repeat until you’ve caught them all

It works. It’s also tedious, hard to track, and the failure-handling loop eats more time than the initial deployment.

Here’s the same job with ConnectWiseAutomateAgent:

# Install the module once
Install-Module ConnectWiseAutomateAgent

# Get list of computers from Active Directory
$computers = Get-ADComputer -Filter * -SearchBase "OU=Workstations,OU=NewClient,DC=domain,DC=com"

# Deploy to all computers in parallel
$computers | ForEach-Object -Parallel {
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName $_.Name -ScriptBlock {
        Install-CWAA -Server "https://automate.yourmsp.com" `
                     -InstallerToken "your-secure-token" `
                     -LocationID 42 `
                     -Hide `
                     -Rename "YourMSP Monitoring"
    }
} -ThrottleLimit 10

One script, parallel execution, consistent configuration on every machine. The failures surface immediately in your PowerShell output instead of trickling in over the next few days.

Key Features

Intelligent Installation

The module handles the details you’d otherwise script yourself:

Automatically detects and installs .NET Framework 3.5 if missing
Tests server connectivity before attempting installation
Handles proxy configurations automatically
Validates server version compatibility
Cleans up after itself
Waits for agent registration before returning success

# Configure proxy before installing
Set-CWAAProxy -ProxyServerURL "http://proxy.client.com:8080"

Install-CWAA -Server "https://automate.msp.com" `
             -InstallerToken "abc123" `
             -LocationID 100 `
             -Hide

Troubleshooting

Agent offline? Get answers without remoting in and clicking through the GUI:

# Check what's wrong
Get-CWAAInfo | Format-List
Get-CWAAError | Select-Object -Last 50
Test-CWAAPort -Server "https://automate.msp.com"

# Quick fixes
Restart-CWAA
Invoke-CWAACommand -Command "Send Status"

# Nuclear option
Redo-CWAA -Server "https://automate.msp.com" -InstallerToken "abc123"

Stealth Deployment

Some clients don’t want their users seeing “LabTech” or “ConnectWise” in Add/Remove Programs:

# Hide completely
Hide-CWAAAddRemove

# Or rename to something client-friendly
Rename-CWAAAddRemove -Name "IT Management Agent"

Proxy Support

For clients with strict firewall policies:

# Configure proxy for the module
Set-CWAAProxy -ProxyServerURL "http://proxy.client.com:8080"

# Install agent (uses the proxy configured above)
Install-CWAA -Server "https://automate.msp.com" `
             -InstallerToken "abc123" `
             -LocationID 50

Installation

# From PowerShell Gallery (recommended)
Install-Module ConnectWiseAutomateAgent

# For older systems without Gallery access (downloads and loads the module directly)
Invoke-RestMethod 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/christaylorcodes/ConnectWiseAutomateAgent/main/ConnectWiseAutomateAgent.ps1' | Invoke-Expression

No dependencies. No complicated setup.

Who This Is For

MSPs - Manage agents across multiple clients from PowerShell
IT Administrators - Automate internal agent deployment and maintenance
System Engineers - Integrate RMM agent management into broader automation workflows
DevOps Teams - Include the monitoring agent in infrastructure-as-code pipelines

Practical Use Cases

Automated Onboarding

Deploy the RMM agent as part of a larger provisioning workflow alongside domain join, software installation, security configuration, and baseline compliance checks.

Health Monitoring

Build a scheduled task that checks agent status, tests connectivity, restarts stuck agents, and alerts on failures. The module includes a built-in health check and auto-remediation system – see the Self-Healing Agents post for the full walkthrough.

Bulk Updates

When ConnectWise releases a critical agent update:

Get-ADComputer -Filter * | ForEach-Object {
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName $_.Name -ScriptBlock {
        Update-CWAA
    }
}

Disaster Recovery

Rebuild scenario where you need to redeploy agents quickly:

# Import computer list from backup
$computers = Import-Csv "backup-computers.csv"

# Redeploy all agents with original settings
$computers | ForEach-Object {
    Invoke-Command -ComputerName $_.ComputerName -ScriptBlock {
        Install-CWAA -Server $using:_.Server `
                     -LocationID $using:_.LocationID `
                     -InstallerToken $using:Token
    }
}

Getting Started

Install the module

Install-Module ConnectWiseAutomateAgent

See what’s available

Get-Command -Module ConnectWiseAutomateAgent

Get help for any function
```
Get-Help Install-CWAA -Full
```

Deploy your first agent

Install-CWAA -Server "https://automate.yourmsp.com" `
             -InstallerToken "your-token" `
             -LocationID 100

What’s in the Rest of This Series

The other posts in this series go deeper into specific workflows:

Mass Deployment - Phased rollouts, failure handling, verification at scale
Self-Healing Agents - Automated health monitoring and escalating remediation
Troubleshooting Guide - Structured diagnostic workflows for common agent issues
Use Cases - Practical examples for onboarding, compliance, migration, and more

Open Source

ConnectWiseAutomateAgent is open source under the MIT license. The code is on GitHub, issues and pull requests are welcome.

GitHub: christaylorcodes/ConnectWiseAutomateAgent
PowerShell Gallery: ConnectWiseAutomateAgent

If the module saves you time, consider supporting the project.

Getting started:

Install-Module ConnectWiseAutomateAgent

Full function reference and examples: GitHub Repository