ConnectWise Automate Computers

ConnectWise Automate Computer Management

Overview

Computers are the core managed entities in ConnectWise Automate. Each computer represents an endpoint with the Automate agent installed - workstations, servers, or network devices. This skill covers computer identification, status monitoring, inventory, patch management, and antivirus status.

Anti-triggers

• Claude subagents — "automate agent" here means the Automate endpoint agent, never an AI subagent definition under agents/*.md.
• The PSA record of the same machine — ConnectWise PSA holds a parallel configuration record with its own ID; an Automate ComputerID is not a PSA configuration/id. Reach configurations through connectwise-psa-api-patterns (/company/configurations).
• Which automation to run and what it returned — inventory, status and health live here; finding the right script, validating its parameters and reading execution results are connectwise-automate-scripts.
• Another RMM's device list — Datto RMM, NinjaOne and Atera all speak of devices and endpoints; use datto-rmm-devices, ninjaone-devices or atera-devices.

Key Concepts

Computer Identifiers

Every computer has multiple identifiers:

Computer Status Values

Operating System Types

Field Reference

Computer objects expose roughly 30 fields covering identifiers, client/location association, status, network, OS, hardware, agent, and timestamp data, plus an ExtraData map for Extra Data Fields (EDFs). ComputerInventory objects cover drives, software, memory, network adapters, printers, services, and monitors.

See references/fields.md for the complete Computer and ComputerInventory field reference.

API Patterns

All endpoints require Authorization: Bearer {token} (see the API Patterns skill for authentication and token management). Core calls:

• List: GET /cwa/api/v1/Computers?pageSize=250
• Get one: GET /cwa/api/v1/Computers/{computerID}
• Filter: GET /cwa/api/v1/Computers?condition=ClientID = 100&pageSize=250 (or Status = 'Online', OS contains 'Windows Server', etc. - see the API Patterns skill for full OData filter syntax)
• Sub-resources: /Computers/{id}/Drives, /Computers/{id}/Software, /Computers/{id}/Patches, /Computers/{id}/Antivirus

See references/api.md for the complete endpoint catalog with example requests and responses.

Workflows

Computer Lookup by Hostname

async function findComputerByHostname(client, hostname) {
  const computers = await client.request(
    `/Computers?condition=Name contains '${hostname}'&pageSize=100`
  );

  if (computers.length === 0) {
    return { found: false, suggestions: [] };
  }

  if (computers.length === 1) {
    return { found: true, computer: computers[0] };
  }

  return {
    found: false,
    ambiguous: true,
    suggestions: computers.map(c => ({
      name: c.Name,
      id: c.ComputerID,
      client: c.Client?.Name,
      status: c.Status
    }))
  };
}

Computer Lookup by IP Address

async function findComputerByIP(client, ipAddress) {
  const computers = await client.request(
    `/Computers?condition=IPAddress = '${ipAddress}' or ExternalIP = '${ipAddress}'`
  );

  return computers[0] || null;
}

Offline Computer Report

async function getOfflineComputers(client, options = {}) {
  const { clientId, offlineMinutes = 30 } = options;

  let condition = "Status = 'Offline'";
  if (clientId) {
    condition += ` and ClientID = ${clientId}`;
  }

  const computers = await client.request(
    `/Computers?condition=${encodeURIComponent(condition)}&pageSize=500`
  );

  const now = new Date();

  return computers.map(computer => ({
    name: computer.Name,
    id: computer.ComputerID,
    client: computer.Client?.Name,
    location: computer.Location?.Name,
    lastContact: computer.LastContact,
    offlineMinutes: Math.floor(
      (now - new Date(computer.LastContact)) / 60000
    )
  }));
}

Disk Space Report

async function getLowDiskSpaceComputers(client, threshold = 10) {
  // Get all computers
  const computers = await client.request('/Computers?pageSize=500');
  const lowDiskComputers = [];

  for (const computer of computers) {
    const drives = await client.request(
      `/Computers/${computer.ComputerID}/Drives`
    );

    const lowDrives = drives.filter(d =>
      d.Type === 'Fixed' && d.PercentFree < threshold
    );

    if (lowDrives.length > 0) {
      lowDiskComputers.push({
        computer: computer.Name,
        client: computer.Client?.Name,
        drives: lowDrives.map(d => ({
          letter: d.Letter,
          percentFree: d.PercentFree,
          freeGB: Math.round(d.FreeSpace / 1024)
        }))
      });
    }

    // Respect rate limits
    await sleep(100);
  }

  return lowDiskComputers;
}

Patch Compliance Report

async function getPatchComplianceReport(client, clientId) {
  let condition = '';
  if (clientId) {
    condition = `?condition=ClientID = ${clientId}`;
  }

  const computers = await client.request(`/Computers${condition}&pageSize=500`);
  const report = {
    total: computers.length,
    compliant: 0,
    nonCompliant: 0,
    computers: []
  };

  for (const computer of computers) {
    const patches = await client.request(
      `/Computers/${computer.ComputerID}/Patches`
    );

    const isCompliant = patches.Missing === 0 && patches.Failed === 0;

    if (isCompliant) {
      report.compliant++;
    } else {
      report.nonCompliant++;
      report.computers.push({
        name: computer.Name,
        missing: patches.Missing,
        failed: patches.Failed
      });
    }

    await sleep(100);
  }

  return report;
}

Error Handling

Common Computer API Errors

Error Response Example

{
  "error": {
    "code": "NotFound",
    "message": "Computer with ID 99999 not found"
  }
}

Computer Validation

function validateComputerQuery(params) {
  const errors = [];

  if (params.condition) {
    // Validate OData operators
    const validOperators = ['=', '!=', '<', '>', '<=', '>=', 'contains', 'startswith'];
    const hasValidOperator = validOperators.some(op =>
      params.condition.includes(op)
    );

    if (!hasValidOperator) {
      errors.push('Invalid condition operator');
    }
  }

  if (params.pageSize && (params.pageSize < 1 || params.pageSize > 1000)) {
    errors.push('pageSize must be between 1 and 1000');
  }

  return {
    valid: errors.length === 0,
    errors
  };
}

Best Practices

1. Use ComputerID for specific lookups - Faster than hostname searches
2. Filter by ClientID when possible - Reduces data transfer
3. Implement pagination - Always handle multiple pages
4. Monitor LastContact - Check for stale offline status
5. Cache inventory data - Software/hardware changes infrequently
6. Batch operations - Group requests to stay under rate limits
7. Use EDFs for custom data - Extra Data Fields for business-specific info
8. Schedule inventory scans - Keep software/hardware data current
9. Track agent versions - Plan upgrades based on version distribution
10. Document naming conventions - Consistent hostnames across clients

Computer Health Assessment

Determining Computer Health

function assessComputerHealth(computer, patches, antivirus, drives) {
  const issues = [];

  // Check online status
  if (computer.Status !== 'Online') {
    issues.push({
      severity: 'critical',
      message: `Computer is ${computer.Status}`
    });
  }

  // Check agent age
  const lastContact = new Date(computer.LastContact);
  const minutesSinceContact = (Date.now() - lastContact) / 60000;

  if (minutesSinceContact > 60) {
    issues.push({
      severity: 'warning',
      message: `No contact in ${Math.round(minutesSinceContact)} minutes`
    });
  }

  // Check patch status
  if (patches.Missing > 0) {
    const severity = patches.Missing > 10 ? 'critical' : 'warning';
    issues.push({
      severity,
      message: `${patches.Missing} missing patch(es)`
    });
  }

  // Check antivirus
  if (!antivirus.RealTimeProtection) {
    issues.push({
      severity: 'critical',
      message: 'Real-time protection disabled'
    });
  }

  const defAge = (Date.now() - new Date(antivirus.DefinitionDate)) / 86400000;
  if (defAge > 7) {
    issues.push({
      severity: 'warning',
      message: `AV definitions ${Math.round(defAge)} days old`
    });
  }

  // Check disk space
  for (const drive of drives) {
    if (drive.Type === 'Fixed' && drive.PercentFree < 10) {
      issues.push({
        severity: drive.PercentFree < 5 ? 'critical' : 'warning',
        message: `Drive ${drive.Letter} only ${drive.PercentFree}% free`
      });
    }
  }

  return {
    healthy: issues.filter(i => i.severity === 'critical').length === 0,
    issues
  };
}

Related Skills

• ConnectWise Automate Clients - Client management
• ConnectWise Automate Scripts - Script execution on computers
• ConnectWise Automate Monitors - Computer monitoring
• ConnectWise Automate Alerts - Computer alerts
• ConnectWise Automate API Patterns - Authentication and pagination