Executing remote actions
Depending on the use case, remote actions administrators must set up different remote action triggers:
Manual
Scheduled
API
Workflows
Spark
These settings determine how you can run a remote action on employee devices.
Remote action execution methods
The following section outlines all methods for executing a remote action.
Executing remote actions manually
Run remote actions on-demand from the Nexthink web interface on targeted devices or VDI sessions. Depending on the use case, remote actions can be executed for a single target or across multiple targets simultaneously. The following sections describe the Nexthink features and interfaces that you can use to trigger a remote action manually.
Executing remote actions from the Investigations module
From Investigations:
Use the NQL editor or Visual editor to query a list of the Devices or VDI sessions.
Select one or multiple devices or VDI sessions from the investigation results table and click on Execute actions from the action bar. The Select action pop-up displays the list of available actions.
Only remote actions configured for VDI can run on sessions.
Select the remote action of interest, identifiable by a rocket icon, and run on the selected devices or sessions.
If the remote action has parameters, you must provide a value for each parameter before confirming
Select Execute on...
A validation message confirms the system has triggered the remote action.
Click on View results to access the remote action details dashboard.
To properly execute remote actions from investigation tables using NQL queries with summarized results, ensure you summarize by device.collector.uid as actions cannot be manually triggered from results summarized by device name.
Find below a working NQL query example with summarized output, suitable for manual remote action execution:
devices during past 7D
| where (device.operating_system.platform == windows)
| where (remote_action.get_configuration_manager_sccm_client_status.execution.status == success and remote_action.get_configuration_manager_sccm_client_status.execution.outputs.ClientInstalled == false)
| summarize devices_without_SCCM_client_ = count() by device.collector.uid
| list device.collector.uid
When running remote actions on many devices, Nexthink recommends exporting the execution results, as the user interface limits the number of records displayed to 10,000.
Executing remote actions from Device View or Session View
From the Device View or Session view:
Toggle the Actions panel from the right side of the page to view a list of all remote actions and workflows available for your user role.
Choose a remote action:
Hover over a remote action to reveal the action menu and choose Execute action to run the remote action on the selected device or session.
Confirm remote action execution by selecting Yes.
A validation message confirms the system has triggered the remote action.
Click on View results to access the remote action details dashboard.
Executing remote actions from Amplify
Execute remote actions directly from the Amplify window, to target the device of an employee who raised the ticket.
Open the Actions tab in Amplify for the device in question.
You can also see and select any associated action listed in the Checklist tab.
Expand the remote action details to view the last two execution statuses of a remote action, including the option to copy the execution details.
Select Run to execute the remote action on the device.
Confirm remote action execution by selecting Yes.
A validation message confirms the system has triggered the remote action.
Executing remote actions from the Manage remote actions page
Trigger and test remote actions from the Remote action administration page. Refer to Executing remote actions from the Manage remote actions page documentation.
Scheduling a remote action
Scheduled remote actions do not require manual triggering. After a schedule is configured, the remote action runs automatically according to the defined schedule.
The system evaluates the defined NQL query based on the selected schedule and sends the remote action to the resulting devices or sessions.
Refer to Scheduling remote actions documentation for more information.
Executing a remote action using the API
Trigger remote actions from external applications, using the Nexthink Remote Actions API.
Refer to Remote Action API documentation for more information.
Executing a remote action within a workflow
A Workflow can trigger a remote action to collect additional diagnostic information or remediate issues on a targeted device. The returned output values can then be used in later workflow steps or conditions.
Refer to Remote action thinklet for more information.
Executing remote actions by Spark
Spark can execute remote actions to automate diagnostics and remediation directly from employee interactions. When enabled for Spark, remote actions become available as automated actions that Spark can run to help resolve issues, collect additional device information, or support self-service experiences.
Refer to Managing Spark actions for more information.
Executing remote actions on interactive users
A remote action that runs as the interactive user needs a user to be logged in to the device. Collector waits for a user to log in and runs the script only then. Executions report the waiting_on_user status while they wait, and expire one week after the request is created.
The script runs in the context of the user logged in when the remote action reaches the device. If nobody is logged in, it runs for the first user to log in afterward. Therefore, on devices shared by multiple users, the executing user may differ from the intended one.
Refer to Advanced Configuration for more information on execution contexts.
Identifying the user that ran a remote action
Interactive user executions report the name of the user that ran the script, for both device-targeted and session-targeted remote actions. List the user.name field of the remote_action.executions table to identify that user:
The username appears only once the script runs. Executions still waiting for a user, and executions that do not run at all, report no username.
Providing remote action parameters
Remote actions can be parameterized. In such cases, users who trigger the remote action manually or systems that execute it via an API call must provide the required input values.
Refer to Parameters for more information.
Tracking remote action executions from Amplify
Track all remote actions triggered from Amplify and filter the fields in the remote_action.executions table. To access the triggered remote action data, include these fields in the NQL query.
trigger_method: The trigger mode used to start the remote action execution.internal_source: The Nexthink module used to trigger the remote action.external_reference: The reference ID used to track the ticket.external_source: The identifier of the external web application record in relation to the remote action was executed.
The table is organized based on the results of the NQL query executed in remote_action.executions.
Example 1
Example 2
When you execute remote actions from an NQL targeting query, ensure you summarize by device UID, as you cannot target devices by name.
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