RPA Agent for Mac | Zoho RPA Help

RPA Agent for Mac

What is an RPA Agent?

RPA agents are software programs that run on desktop machines to automate tasks. They are the core component of the RPA platform that executes automation actions. Every machine that needs to run automation requires an RPA agent. The agent connects the Zoho RPA server to the client machine and provides information about the machine's status, such as whether it is up and available to run bot executions. The agent also enables the server to send instructions on what needs to be done.

System Requirements

Supported Operating systems:  Supported on MacOS  Ventura (Version 13.0) and newer
Minimum disk space: 512 MB
Minimum RAM: 512 MB

Create RPA Agent

Install Agent

  1. Log in to your Zoho RPA account.
  2. In the Settings section, click Agents, then click Create Agent.
  3. Navigate to the Mac tab. Then, click the download link that matches your Mac's architecture.


  4. Click Generate Key to generate a unique key for the new agent. In the pop-up window that appears, click Accept to continue. 
    Note: The installation key can only be generated by either an admin or the owner of the organization. Once the key is generated, it will be available for the other users in the organization.
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions and run the agent. 
  6. Once you've successfully set up the agent, click Next.
  7. Click Done.

Register RPA Agent

  1. Enter the agent name in the Agent name field.
  2. Enter the agent key in the Agent key field.
  3. Click Register Agent.
  4. Switch to the browser window to confirm that your agent is created and registered.
Notes
 If you're operating behind a firewall and encountering connectivity issues, learn more about the necessary domains to whitelist in Whitelist Domains for Firewall.
To register an agent at a later time, or to register an agent that was unregistered:



  1. Click the RPA Agent icon in the mac menu bar and select Register agent.
  2. Enter the agent name and agent key in the window.
  3. Click Register Agent.
Note: You can only register an agent that has not yet been registered. If you need to register an agent that has already been registered, you will first need to unregister.

Configure Proxy Settings 

To set proxy settings for the RPA agent on your client machine:
  1. Install the RPA agent.
  2. On the Register Window screen, click the Set Proxy button.
  3. You will be redirected to the Proxy Configuration screen. 
  4. Enter the following information:
    1. Server
    2. Port
    3. Username (optional)
    4. Password (optional)
  5. Click Save.

To configure proxy settings for a previously registered agent:
  1. Click on the Mac menu bar icon and select Set proxy.
  2. You will be redirected to the Proxy Configuration window screen.
  3. Enter the proxy server settings and click Set proxy.

Unregister Agent

To unregister an agent:
  1. Click the RPA Agent icon in the Mac menu bar and select Unregister Agent.
  2. Click Unregister to proceed.




Note: Unregistering an agent will abort all running RPA processes and exit the agent. You will need to manually start the agent again, if required.

Enable Screen Lock 

By default, the RPA agent follows your Mac machine's screen lock settings. If your machine is set to automatically lock the screen at a specific time, the screen will lock as scheduled. The agent will not change this setting.

Here's how RPA automation processes will be executed when screen lock is enabled:

No active executions: The system will lock and eventually enter sleep mode.
Active UI interactions: The system will not lock. The RPA agent remains active and connected to the RPA server. Once UI interactions stop, the system will lock and eventually enter sleep mode, and the agent will disconnect. Unfinished executions may result in failure.
Screen locked: When the screen is locked, the 'Open file dialog' and 'Save file dialog' actions in 'Mac General' category will not work.

To enable this option, click the RPA Agent icon in the Mac menu bar and select Enable screen lock.


Notes
Note: This option is only available if you've previously switched to prevent screen lock and want to return to the default setting.

Prevent Screen Lock

Using this option, the agent will override your Mac system settings and prevent the screen from locking unless you manually lock it.
To use this option:
  1. Click the RPA Agent icon in the Mac menu bar and select Prevent screen lock.
  2. Click Continue in the prompt.

When screen lock is prevented, all RPA executions will work as expected.

Pause flow execution

You can pause any running or scheduled RPA flow on the desktop machine,  by clicking the RPA agent icon in the Mac menu bar and clicking Pause execution.
While paused, any flow that is scheduled to run will remain in the paused state until execution is resumed. 
The execution passed status can seen in the agent status dialog.



Resume flow execution

You can resume execution by clicking the RPA agent icon in the Mac menu bar and clicking Resume execution.
Upon resuming, the flows will transition to a processing state and continue their run.



Status, Connect, Disconnect, Restart and Exit RPA Agent 

You can connect, disconnect, restart, and exit the RPA Agent from the Mac menu bar.
  1. To connect the agent to the RPA server: Click the agent icon on the Mac menu bar and select Connect.
  2. To disconnect the agent from the server: Click the agent icon on the Mac menu bar and select Disconnect.
  3. To check the agent Status: Click the agent icon on the Mac menu bar and then select Status. 
  4. To restart the RPA agent: Click the agent icon and then select Restart. Restarting the agent is a useful troubleshooting step for scenarios such as agent busy errors, when the agent is stalled, or if it is not connecting or responding as expected.
  5. To exit the RPA process: Click the agent icon on the Mac menu bar and select Exit.

Update RPA Agent

You have two options to keep your RPA agent up-to-date:

Manual update

You can update the agent whenever you are ready. You will receive a notification when a new version is available.


Auto update

When a new update is available, you will see a prompt asking you to update the agent. Selecting Remind me later will prompt you again in 30 minutes.


Minimum version and update requirements

If your RPA agent is below the minimum supported version, you will receive a prompt to update it. You need to ensure the agent is running with administrator privileges for the update to work. Updates can then proceed manually or automatically, depending on which setting is enabled.

Delete RPA Agent

To delete or remove the RPA agent, follow these steps :

Unregister Agent

To unregister an agent:
  1. Click the RPA Agent icon in the Mac menu bar and select Unregister Agent.
  2. Click Unregister to proceed.
Note: Unregistering an agent will abort all running RPA processes and exit the agent. You will need to manually start the agent again, if required.

Uninstall Agent

To delete the RPA app on your Mac, navigate to your Applications folder, right-click the Zoho RPA app icon, and select Move to Bin.

Delete Agent

As the final step, you will need to delete the agent from your Zoho RPA organization. Here's how : 
  1. Log in to your Zoho RPA account.
  2. Click Settings, then click .
  3. Hover over the agent you want to delete, then click the bin icon to delete the agent.
      

If the RPA agent is currently used in any flow, you'll be prompted to remove it from those flows first. To do this, go to the respective flow, navigate to the builder screen, click Change agent, and select a different agent. Once you're done, you can return here to delete the original agent. 

Retrieving RPA Agent Logs for Support and Debugging

To help our support team debug your issue quickly, please locate and attach the following log file in your email to the support team.

On macOS, the Library folder is hidden by default. To access your logs, follow these steps:
  1. Open Finder.
  2. In the top menu bar , click Go > Go to Folder... (or press Cmd + Shift + G).
  3. Paste the following file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Zoho/RPA/logs/
  4. Locate the RPAAgentLog0.txt file and attach the file in your email to the support team
Notes
Note: If the issue has occurred multiple times, please include all log files from the directory (e.g., RPAAgentLog1.txt, RPAAgentLog2.txt, etc.) to help us debug the issue more effectively.