Configure on Chrome for macOS using Jamf

Last updated: March 14, 2025 17:01

This article covers the process of configuring the Pendo Launcher extension on the Google Chrome web browser on a Mac computer using Jamf, which involves:

Determining the values to configure.
Creating a .plist file on your own device.
Pushing the .plist file to your end-user devices.
Validating that the configuration was successful.

The process described in this article can be used to configure the following types of data.

API key
Visitor ID
Metadata

Prerequisites

Before configuring the extension on end-user devices, you must first install it on end-user browsers. See the IT guide to deploying the Pendo Launcher for all implementation options. We also recommend reading the Plan your browser extension implementation article before running any deployment steps.

Step 1. Determine values to configure

To fully deploy the Pendo Launcher, you must configure an API key and Visitor ID. You can also include metadata, such as role or location, which you can use to enhance your analytics and guide targeting. For more information about selecting appropriate Visitor IDs and metadata, see Plan your browser extension implementation.

API key

Find the API key needed for Step 2 of the configuration process by navigating to Settings > Subscription Settings. Your unique extension API key is displayed at the top of the page and looks something like the following:

{
    "APIKey": {
        "Value": "c022bb1e-676d-4c58-731c-caf13fe12a89"
    }
}

Visitor ID and metadata

In Jamf, several payload variables are used to populate settings in a configuration profile and metadata in a .plist file. See Jamf's Computer Configuration Profiles article for a list of payload variables that come standard in a Jamf configuration. The values you need to configure for your metadata in Pendo include:

id, which corresponds to the Jamf-specific variable, $EMAIL.
position, which corresponds to the Jamf-specific variable, $POSITION.

The visitor information should be formatted as a string JSON object with all XML incompatible characters escaped. To create this file:

1. Create a normal JSON object containing your information, such as:

{
  "id": "$EMAIL",
  "position": "$POSITION",
}

2. Use an online tool to escape your text, such as freeformatter.com or codebeautify.org. The resulting text from the above object looks like:

{
  &quot;id&quot;: &quot;$EMAIL&quot;,
  &quot;position&quot;: &quot;$POSITION&quot;,
}

3. Refer to your Jamf's documentation for instructions on how to dynamically populate the values in this visitor object. Jamf uses Payload Variables to dynamically insert values specific to the targeted end-user into configuration profiles.

Step 2. Create a .plist file

Use the strings created in Step 1 to create a .plist file. Plist (Property List) files are extensions unique to Mac systems used to save the preferences of applications. These files are formatted in XML and contain properties and configuration settings for various programs.

Create a file on your own machine called com.google.Chrome.extensions.epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil.plist. Copy the following code into the file, then insert the values you determined in Step 1.

<?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>APIKey</key>
    <string>YOUR API KEY HERE</string>
    <key>visitor</key>
    <string>YOUR VISITOR STRING HERE</string>
  </dict>
</plist>

If you want to continuously enforce the use of Pendo, use the following key-value pair under both visitor and account keys in your .plist file:

<key>state</key> 
<string>always</string>

The state key is used by MCX preferences to determine how often the policy is enforced. Setting it to always keeps the policy running at all times. The string values after the key-named value (always) contain your XML-escaped JSON strings determined in Step 1.

Below is an example .plist file.

<?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>APIKey</key>
    <string>c025bc1f-606d-4d62-731c-caf13fe12j24</string>
    <key>visitor</key>
    <string>{&quot;id&quot;: &quot;john.smith@example.com&quot;}</string>
  </dict>
</plist>

Step 3. Push your .plist file to end-user devices

In Jamf, push your .plist file as a configuration profile to end-user devices.

In Jamf, go to Computers > Configuration Profiles.
Select New. This opens a new, unnamed configuration profile for you to define.
Complete the fields in the General tab as appropriate. We recommend the following:
- Enter a meaningful Name for your configuration profile.
- Under Distribution Method, choose Install Automatically. This ensures that users can access the Pendo Launcher immediately and can't remove it.
In the Application & Custom Settings tab, select Upload and then Add. This opens a form.
- Under Preference Domain, enter com.google.Chrome.extensions.epnhoepnmfjdbjjfanpjklemanhkjgil.
- Under Property List, enter the file you created in Step 2 of this article.
Open the Scope tab at the top of your new configuration profile and select Add.
Add the computers or computer groups that should have the Pendo Launcher, Visitor IDs, and metadata.
Select Done and then Save. This opens a window prompting you to choose your Redistribution Options.
Select Automatically Update and then Save. This updates the profile on computers that already have the profile installed.

Step 4. Validate your configuration

First, test the script on a single device that you can physically access to verify correct configuration. Validation involves confirming the presence of the configuration profile and validating the correct browser behavior.

Confirm the presence of the configuration profile

There are two ways to confirm a configuration profile is successfully configured:

Apple system settings

On your Mac, choose System Settings in your Apple menu.
Select Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
Under Others, select Profiles. You might need to scroll down to find it.
Search for your configuration profile, which is the name configured in Jamf, to check that it's present. Double-click the profile to see the plist information.

The command line

Open the Mac terminal app.
Enter the command cd /Library/Managed\ Preferences to navigate to the managed preferences folder.
Verify that the com.google.Chrome.plist file is present.
Enter the command defaults read /Library/Managed\ Preferences/com.google.Chrome.
Verify that the contents match the values that you configured in Step 2.

Validate the browser behavior

Confirm that the browser is correctly reading the contents of the configuration profile.

Open Chrome on the device with the configuration profile. If the Chrome app is already running, quit and reopen it.
Install the Pendo Launcher browser extension on your Chrome browser. If you've already configured force-installation of the Pendo Launcher, you can skip this step.
Visit any non-Chrome webpage, such as Pendo.
Right-click on the Pendo Launcher extension icon in the top-right corner of your browser toolbar.
Select Show Debug Info.
Confirm that the Visitor ID in the Identified as field is correct
Select Show Configuration Info.
Open the IT-Managed Config dropdown menu and search for your configuration values to check that they're present.

IT-Managed