Managing Spark actions
Understanding Spark actions
Actions enable seamless automation for diagnosing issues and performing remediations directly from Spark. These actions enhance the employee experience while reducing manual IT effort by providing both ready-to-use and customizable solutions. Activate a wide range of Spark actions to prioritize automatic, instant resolutions over manual guidance and issue escalations.
There are three types of actions available in Spark:
Agent actions: Activate ready-to-use actions directly from the Spark Cockpit. These actions let you quickly start monitoring and remediating common issues without any setup.
Remote actions: Create new remote actions or use existing remote actions to enable them for Spark. Refer to Custom remote actions for Spark for more information.
Workflows: Create new workflows or use existing workflows to enable them for Spark. Refer to Creating Workflows to learn how to make workflows available in Spark.
Enable Spark permissions for these actions centrally on the Manage Actions page.
Agent actions for Spark
Agent actions enable Spark to automatically diagnose and resolve device issues. They are grouped into two categories:
Diagnostic actions: Collect real-time information about device configuration and performance to understand problems.
Remediation actions: Apply fixes directly, such as resetting configuration settings or repairing components.
To ensure quality, reliability, and compatibility, agent actions are centrally managed by Nexthink. As a result, creating, configuring or deleting agent actions is not supported.
Refer to Managing Spark actions documentation for more information on viewing details or enabling Agent actions.
Out-of-the-box diagnostic actions
Spark comes with a comprehensive set of built-in diagnostics actions, ready to use from day one. These actions are seamlessly integrated into Spark and require no configuration, activation, or management, enabling fluid employee support out of the box.
To keep management simple, only manageable Spark actions are listed on the Manage actions page.
Remote actions and workflows for Spark
Configure custom or Nexthink Library remote actions or workflows and enable them in Spark to extend its capabilities. Adapt these items to your organization's specific needs.
Remote actions
From Remote Actions > Manage remote actions in the main menu:
Select the remote action that you want to enable for Spark or create a new remote action.
Select the Spark triggering mechanism for the remote action.
Once the Spark trigger method is saved, the remote action appears on the Manage Actions page, where you can enable it. Refer to the Enabling Spark permissions section on this page.
Nexthink does not recommend activating remote actions that use campaigns to communicate with employees in Spark. Employee consent and communication can be managed by Spark on the basis of your configured messages.
Workflows
From Workflows > Manage workflows in the main menu:
Select the workflow that you want to enable for Spark or create a new workflow.
Tick the Available in > Spark option.
Once this option is saved, the workflow appears on the Manage Actions page, where you can enable it. Refer to the Enabling Spark permissions section on this page.
Managing Spark actions
Use the Manage Spark Actions page to define which automated actions Spark can run and how it interacts with employees during execution.
On this page, you define:
Which Agent actions, Remote actions, and Workflows Spark can run.
Whether Spark requires employee approval before running a Remote action or Workflow.
Which messages Spark displays before, during, and after action execution.
These settings help you balance automation and operational control while ensuring clear and transparent action execution for employees.
Accessing Spark actions
To access the list of available actions, navigate to Spark > Manage actions.
Understanding the Spark actions list
From the Spark Agent actions page, view all available actions organized by:
Name: The unique name of the action.
Origin: Indicates from where the action originates.
Purpose: Indicates whether the action is Diagnostic or Remediation. This applies to remote actions and agent actions.
Type: Indicates whether the action is an Agent action, Remote action, or Workflow.
Category: Indicates the action category based on its purpose. This applies to Agent actions only.
Platforms: The operating systems supported by the action.
Spark permissions: Toggle on to allow Spark to use the selected Agent action.
Only actions explicitly enabled for Spark, by an administrator, appear in the Spark Actions table.
Additionally, Spark comes with a comprehensive set of built-in Diagnostics actions. These built-in actions require no configuration, activation, or management, enabling fluid employee support from day one. To keep management simple, only manageable Spark actions are listed in the Actions table.
Use the search bar in the top-right corner of the page to locate an action by name. This narrows the displayed results and helps you focus on specific topics or issues.
Using the action menu for Spark actions
The actions may vary depending on the type of Spark actions.
Select an action in the list, and click the action menu on the right side of the row to view the available options:
Details: Provides a concise overview of the selected action, allowing you to quickly understand its behavior and scope. This includes custom actions and Agent actions automatically installed as system content. Use this information to confirm that an Agent action fits your use case before enabling it for Spark. The dialog includes:
Action name: The name of the Agent action, for example Start application.
Description: A brief explanation of the action behavior and supported application types.
Origin: The functional area the action belongs to, for example Application Management.
Type: The action type, for example Agent action.
Purpose: The intended use of the action, for example Remediation.
Platforms: The supported operating systems, for example Windows.
Configure action approval: Define whether Spark should request employee consent before running the action and configure messages shown to the employee:
Edit: Edit the selected remote action or workflow.
Execute action: Run the action on a relevant device to verify its behavior before enabling it for Spark.
Enabling Spark permissions
Use the Spark permissions column to enable or disable an Agent action, Remote Action, or Workflow. When you enable a Remote action or Workflow, the Configure action approval panel appears.
Configuring action approval
Use Configure action approval in the action menu to define whether Spark requires employee approval and how Spark communicates with the employee.
At this step, you define the messages Spark displays at each stage of the action lifecycle. These messages help employees understand what is happening and why.
In the configuration dialog, specify:
Employee approval
Ask for employee approval first: Spark prompts the employee before running the action.
Run without employee approval: Spark executes the action automatically.
Messages shown to employees at each stage of execution, that ensure transparency and support a positive employee experience.
Before action execution: Explains why the action is required and what Spark is about to do.
While the action is running (optional): Informs the employee that the action is running and describes any temporary impact.
After the action completes (optional): Confirms that the action has completed and explains what changed or what to do next.
Employee messaging varies by Spark action type.
Querying Agent actions with NQL
Refer to the Spark NQL capabilities documentation for more information.
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