Install on Chrome for macOS using Jamf

Jamf is a mobile device management (MDM) system primarily used for managing Apple devices. This article covers the process to auto-install the Pendo Launcher extension on the Google Chrome web browser on a Mac computer using Jamf, which involves:

1. Creating a Jamf configuration profile. 
2. Pushing the configuration profile to your end-user devices.
3. Validating that the installation was successful.

For more general instructions that aren't specific to Jamf, see Install on Chrome for macOS using configuration profiles.

The installation process doesn’t identify the visitors (end users) or include metadata about them. To identify visitors to Pend, pair this installation with a follow-up configuration. You can find a list of these options in the IT guide to deploying the Pendo Launcher.

This article assumes that you’ve installed the administrative templates for Google Chrome in Active Directory. If you’re unsure how to do this, see Google’s article: Set Chrome Browser policies on managed PCs.

Prerequisites

This installation method isn't compatible with the Google Admin console method of extension installation, even for other non-Pendo extensions. If you already use Google Admin console for managing Chrome extensions, you must use that method for the Pendo Launcher as well.

Before you continue, we recommend that you read our Plan your Pendo Launcher installation and Deploying the Pendo Launcher articles.

Extension ID

We refer to the Chrome extension ID as the extension ID. The extension ID for the Pendo Launcher is the same for all customers: epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil. This extension ID is referenced later in the installation process. It's used by the browser to identify which extension should be installed.

You can also find the extension ID in the Chrome Web Store listing of the Pendo Launcher: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/pendo-launcher/epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil

Step 1. Create a configuration profile in Jamf

1. In Jamf, go to Computers > Configuration Profiles.
2. Select New. This opens a new, unnamed configuration profile for you to define.
3. In the General tab, enter a meaningful Name for your configuration profile.
4. In the Application & Custom Settings tab, select Upload and then Add. This opens a form.
5. Under Preference Domain, enter com.google.chrome.
6. Under Property List, copy and paste the following code block.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
  <dict>
    <key>ExtensionSettings</key>
    <dict>
      <key>epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil</key>
      <dict>
      <key>installation_mode</key>
      <string>force_installed</string>
      <key>update_url</key>
      <string>https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx</string>
      <key>toolbar_pin</key>
      <string>force_pinned</string>
      </dict>
    </dict>
  </dict>
</plist>

If you'd like users to have the option to uninstall the Pendo Launcher extension, you can change the keyword force_installed to say normal_installed instead.

If you don't want to automatically pin the extension to the user's toolbar, you can remove the key toolbar_pin and its associated string, force_pin.

Step 2. Push the configuration profile to your end-user devices

Configure the scope of your Jamf configuration profile.

1. In the Scope tab at the top of your new configuration profile, select Add.
2. Add your target computers or computer groups. Pendo recommends a gradual rollout of the installation, beginning with a device that you have physical access to.
3. Select Done and then Save.

Step 3. Validate the installation

After the configuration profile created in Jamf is pushed to a given device, confirm its presence to validate your deployment process, and then confirm that the extension is installed to validate the content of your delivered profile.

Confirm the presence of the configuration profile

There are two ways to confirm a configuration profile is successfully installed: Apple system settings and the command line.

Apple system settings

1. On your Mac, choose System Settings in your Apple menu.
2. Select Privacy and Security in the sidebar.
3. Select Profiles. You might need to scroll down to find it.
4. Search for your configuration profile to check that it's present. Double-click the profile to see the plist information.

The command line

1. Open the Mac terminal app.
2. Enter the command cd /Library/Managed\ Preferences to navigate to the managed preferences folder.
3. Verify that the com.google.Chrome.plist file is present.
4. Enter the command defaults read /Library/Managed\ Preferences/com.google.Chrome.
5. Verify the contents match the following:

{
    ExtensionSettings =     {
        "epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil" =         {
            "update_url" = "https://clients2.google.com/service/update2/crx";
            "installation_mode" = "force_installed";
            "toolbar_pin" = "force_pinned";
        };
    };
}

Validate the content of your delivered profile

Once you've confirmed that the configuration file is present, validate that the file is formatted correctly by checking that the browser correctly force-installs the extension.

1. Open Chrome on a device that has the configuration profile present. If the Chrome app is already running, quit and re-open it.
2. In your Chrome browser, navigate to the chrome://extensions page by copying and pasting that exact text into your URL bar.
3. Find the Pendo Launcher, listed under Extensions. If you chose force_installed when creating the configuration profile, there is no option to disable the extension from the page.