Deployment Guide

Deploy ActivityPulse across your organisation in under 10 minutes. MSI installer with GPO, Intune, and SCCM support.

Before You Begin

System Requirements

  1. Windows 10 (1809 or later) or Windows 11
  2. x64 architecture
  3. 50MB disk space
  4. .NET Framework is NOT required (native C++ agent)
  5. No browser extensions required

What You’ll Need

Item Details
MSI Installer Downloaded from your customer portal. The filename contains your registration key (e.g. ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-....msi)
Server URL Defaults to https://portal.activitypulse.com.au. Customers with a dedicated portal use their own URL, set automatically by the portal that issued the MSI.
Registration Key Embedded in the MSI filename (format rk-<hex>) and read automatically during installation. No need to look it up separately.
Admin Access Local admin on target machines, or GPO and Intune admin rights for centralised deployment.

Network Requirements

  1. HTTPS (port 443) outbound to your portal URL
  2. No inbound ports required
  3. Proxy servers supported (system proxy settings are respected)

Before You Begin

System Requirements

  1. Windows 10 (1809 or later) or Windows 11
  2. x64 architecture
  3. 50MB disk space
  4. .NET Framework is NOT required (native C++ agent)
  5. No browser extensions required

What You’ll Need

MSI Installer
Downloaded from your customer portal. The filename contains your registration key (e.g. ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-....msi)
Server URL
Defaults to https://portal.activitypulse.com.au. Customers with a dedicated portal use their own URL, set automatically by the portal that issued the MSI.
Registration Key
Embedded in the MSI filename (format rk-<hex>) and read automatically during installation. No need to look it up separately.
Admin Access
Local admin on target machines, or GPO and Intune admin rights for centralised deployment.

Network Requirements

  1. HTTPS (port 443) outbound to your portal URL
  2. No inbound ports required
  3. Proxy servers supported (system proxy settings are respected)

Installation Methods

Manual Install (Single Machine)

For testing or small deployments. Run the MSI installer downloaded from your customer portal. The filename contains your registration key, which is read automatically during installation.

CMD
msiexec /i “ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-<your-key>.msi” /quiet /norestart

If the MSI has been renamed, or if you need to specify the server URL and registration key explicitly:

CMD
msiexec /i “ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1.msi” SERVER_URL=https://portal.activitypulse.com.au ORG_ID=rk-<your-key> /quiet /norestart

The agent will start automatically after installation. On upgrade installs, SERVER_URL and ORG_ID are read from the registry and do not need to be specified again.

Group Policy (GPO) Deployment

For Active Directory environments. Because the registration key is embedded in the MSI filename, GPO deployment requires no extra parameters.

  1. Copy the MSI to a network share accessible by target computers. Keep the original filename. Do not rename it.
  2. Open Group Policy Management Console
  3. Create or edit a GPO linked to the target Organisational Unit
  4. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Policies > Software Settings > Software Installation
  5. Right click > New > Package, then select the MSI from the network share
  6. Choose “Assigned” deployment method
  7. Run gpupdate /force on target machines, or wait for policy refresh and reboot

Why no extra parameters? The registration key (rk-<hex>) is embedded in the MSI filename and read automatically during installation. The default Server URL is built into the MSI by the portal that issued it. As long as the original filename is preserved, no GPO scripts or registry preferences are needed.

Microsoft Intune

For cloud managed devices.

  1. Upload the MSI to Intune as a Line of Business app. Keep the original filename. Do not rename it.
  2. Set the install command shown below
  3. Assign to the target device group
  4. Configure Defender exclusions via Intune policy. See the AV Configuration Guide
Install
msiexec /i “ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-<your-key>.msi” /quiet /norestart
Uninstall
msiexec /x “ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-<your-key>.msi” /quiet /norestart

SCCM and ConfigMgr

For System Center Configuration Manager (now Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager) deployments.

  1. Create a new Application in SCCM
  2. Add a deployment type using the MSI installer. Keep the original filename so the registration key is preserved
  3. Set the install command shown below
  4. Deploy to the target collection
Install
msiexec /i “ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-<your-key>.msi” /quiet /norestart

PowerShell Script

For scripted deployments. The MSI filename embeds the registration key, so no extra parameters are needed.

PowerShell
# Install silently
$msiPath = “\\fileserver\share\ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-<your-key>.msi”
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList “/i `”$msiPath`” /quiet /norestart” -Wait# Verify the service is running
Get-Service -Name “ActivityPulseAgent”

Automatic Agent Registration

When the agent starts for the first time with a Server URL and registration key configured, it automatically registers with the portal:

  1. Agent sends a registration request with machine identity
  2. Portal validates the registration key and auto registers the agent
  3. Portal returns a shared API key
  4. Agent stores the API key in its encrypted local database
  5. Normal event sync begins immediately

Reinstall detection. If the same computer re-registers (matched by hardware fingerprint), the portal updates the existing agent record instead of creating a duplicate.

Verify Your Deployment

After installation, verify the agent is running:

CMD
# Check the service is running
sc query ActivityPulseAgent# Check both processes are running
tasklist | findstr /i ActivityPulse# Expected output:
# ActivityPulse_Service.exe    1234  Services    0     25,600 K
# ActivityPulse_Monitor.exe    5678  Console     1     35,200 K

In the portal, navigate to the Agents page. Your newly installed agent should appear within 60 seconds with a green “Online” status.

Removing the Agent

CMD
msiexec /x “ActivityPulse_Agent_26.4.1_rk-<your-key>.msi” /quiet /norestart

Or via Settings > Apps > ActivityPulse Agent > Uninstall. Uninstallation removes all agent binaries and the local database. The agent record remains in the portal (shown as “Offline”) and can be deleted by an admin.

Troubleshooting

Agent service won't start

Check the Windows Event Log (Application and System) for errors. Ensure the installation completed successfully. Try reinstalling the MSI.

Agent shows "Offline" in the portal

Verify outbound HTTPS (443) to your portal URL is not blocked by your firewall or proxy. Check that the Server URL and Org ID are correct in the registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\ActivityPulseAgent

Antivirus is blocking the agent

See our Antivirus Configuration Guide. ActivityPulse uses system APIs (keyboard hooks, accessibility APIs, registry access) that may trigger behavioural detections. Exclusions are required for reliable operation.

Need Help with Deployment?

Contact our support team or book a deployment assistance session.

Book a Demo

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