Install Argos on a PC
You start in the console, generate an installer for that PC and run it there. The Windows guide is complete. macOS and Linux are still in development, and here is what to expect.
Before you start
- Windows 10 or 11 on the PC you want to monitor.
- An administrator account on that PC, only for the install.
- Outbound HTTPS from the PC to your Argos server.
- A console user allowed to manage tokens.
The agent talks to your Argos server. Nothing else reaches us beyond what your plan says: on Private cloud, the license check with the number of PCs and an identifier of your installation.
Step by step
Step 1: Open Tokens in the console
Sign in to your console, open the Administration menu and choose Tokens. The three buttons for adding a PC sit at the top right: Enroll machine, Generate installer and Issue token. This guide uses Generate installer.
Step 2: Generate the installer and download it
Type a label for the PC, for example reception-01, and a group if you want to organize them. With Number of machines you can ask for several installers at once. Leave the elevated token unchecked unless you need administrator commands on that PC. Press Generate installer, then Download installer (.zip).
The token is shown only once and each installer works for one PC only. If you lose it, or need it on another PC, generate a new one.
Step 3: Run it on the PC
Take the .zip to the PC, extract it (right-click, Extract all) and double-click instalar.cmd. Do not run it from inside the .zip. When it finishes, the agent starts with Windows and works in the background, with no window.
What Windows may show
- User Account Control: asks for administrator permission. Accept it with an administrator account.
- SmartScreen: "Windows protected your PC" can appear for files Windows does not recognize. If you downloaded the file yourself from your console, choose More info and then Run anyway.
We show no screenshots of this part: the look changes with the Windows version.
Step 4: Check that it shows up online
Go back to the console and open Machines. The PC appears with the label you typed and its online status. It usually shows up in under a minute. If a few minutes pass and it does not appear, see Common problems below.
Step 5: Optional: tell your team and turn on the widget
Before you monitor the people who use the PC, tell them what is recorded and why. The responsible monitoring guide helps with that. If you want, turn on the work-time widget on that PC: each person sees their own active time for the day.
Demo environment · Fictional data
Uninstall
On the PC, open Settings, then Apps, find Agente Argos and choose Uninstall. The agent's scheduled tasks are stopped and deleted. Then, in the console, revoke that PC's token under Tokens with the Revoke button.
Common problems
The PC does not appear in the console
Check that the PC has internet and that your network allows outbound HTTPS to your Argos server; a proxy or a firewall can block it. Each installer works on one PC only: if you already used it on another, generate a new one. If nothing changes, uninstall Agente Argos and run instalar.cmd again.
Windows will not let me run the file
Extract the .zip before running and run from the extracted folder. If SmartScreen appears, follow what step 3 describes. Without an administrator account the installer cannot finish.
I lost the token or the .zip
It cannot be shown again. Revoke the old token under Tokens and generate a new installer.
None of this solves it?Write to us
macOS: in development
The Mac agent is still in development and cannot be installed today. We are not giving a date because we do not have one yet. When it is available, this guide will be completed.
Permissions macOS will ask for
This is the expected list and it may change before the first release.
- Screen Recording
- For screen captures and the live view.
- Accessibility
- To control the keyboard and mouse during remote control.
- Remote Desktop
- On macOS 14 or later, for remote control sessions.
- Microphone (optional)
- Only to detect that a call is in progress and show "On a call". It never records audio.
Linux: in development
The Linux agent is still in development and cannot be installed today. We are not giving a date because we do not have one yet. When it is available, this guide will be completed.
About screen capture
In Wayland sessions the system limits what an application can capture. That is a Wayland restriction, not an agent one, and it can affect screen captures and the live view.
Installing on several PCs?
Tell us how many there are and how they are connected, and we will tell you how to do it with less work.