Manual installation is primarily used early on in your implementation for testing or demonstration with a very small group. To deploy more broadly, we strongly recommend an IT-based deployment, as described in the developer installation guides listed in the Plan your Pendo Launcher installation article.
Process overview
Manual installation doesn’t require IT involvement and can be tested by a single user. However, this approach provides no way of enforcing deployment since users can choose to ignore or remove the extension. It also offers limited control over deployment settings after installation, limited insight into who has successfully installed, and limited options for user identification and metadata gathering.
The overall process for manually installing the Pendo Launcher is as follows:
- Install the Pendo Launcher.
- Add one or more extension apps.
- Configure the Pendo Launcher.
- Manually prompt the Pendo Launcher to start tracking behavior.
Note: If you choose to manually install the Pendo Launcher, the Show Debug Info option doesn’t appear when you’re in the Chrome system tab.
Install and configure the Pendo Launcher
- Download the Pendo Launcher through the Chrome Web Store, Edge Add-ons Catalog, or Firefox Add-ons Catalog.
- Pin the Pendo Launcher to your browser. Open the puzzle icon in the top-right corner of your browser and select the pin icon. This adds the Pendo chevron logo to your browser toolbar.
- Add at least one extension app to your Pendo subscription. For instructions on how to create new extension apps, see Add extension apps.
- Right-click on the Pendo Launcher icon in the top-right corner of your browser toolbar.
- Select Show Debug Info. If this option isn’t in the menu, navigate to one of your work applications and try again.
- Select Show Configuration Info in the panel that opens. This opens a configuration form for the Pendo Launcher, with the identified user at the top.
- Copy and paste the Pendo extension API Key into the Extension API Key text box. You can find your API key in Settings > Subscription Settings.
- Add the chosen Visitor ID variable in the Visitor ID Overwrite section. This is typically the email address of the identified user at the top of the configuration form. This is recommended to avoid identifying the user based on browser session ID or anonymously.
- Choose the Environment. The default is IO. You must choose a different environment if your subscription is EU, US1, or JPN.
- Select Re-fetch Extension Settings. This prompts tracking behavior. By default, the Pendo Launcher extension updates its configuration every two hours.
Next steps after manual installation
Optionally, you can also:
- Invite team members to your Pendo subscription. For instructions on how to add users, see Roles and Permissions.
- Add metadata fields in Data Mappings. For instructions on adding custom metadata fields to visitors, see Manage custom metadata fields.