Lesson 24: Jamf Binary and Commands

Jamf 100 Course
Solution
Application
Content Type
Training Content
Utilities & Services
ft:locale
en-US

Goal

Access the jamf binary from Terminal. Run management commands using the jamf binary.

Video

Key points

  • Terminal is a command-line interface (CLI) application that is used to run commands, tools, and scripts.

  • Terminal can be found in /Applications/Utilities.

  • Binary files that handle specific tasks or tools on a Mac can be run from Terminal.

    • Commands can be executed by typing the name of these files into the command line.

  • The man command provides the user manual for a command.

    • For example, man pwd provides the manual pages for the pwd command.

  • The pwd command prints the current working directory.

  • The ~ represents the current user's home directory.

  • The jamf binary is a small file installed during enrollment that handles most management tasks on a Mac.

    • The jamf binary can be accessed from Terminal with the command jamf.

  • The jamf binary manual page can be accessed with the command jamf help.

  • Any management action taken by the policy must be run as the root user on a Mac.

    • This is done by using sudo prior to the command and authenticating with an administrator account.

    • For example, sudo jamf policy will initiate a check-in with Jamf Pro and sudo jamf recon will initiate an inventory update with Jamf Pro.

Review

To view answers, click arrow next to each question.

  1. What is the command to access the built-in documentation page for the jamf binary?
    Entering jamf help in the Terminal will access the manual page for the jamf binary; jamf help followed by a command will bring up documentation about that specific command.
  2. What is required by the jamf binary to execute management tasks?
    The jamf binary requires root privileges to run most management tasks in Jamf Pro, which can be done manually on a Mac by using the sudo command prior to using the jamf binary.
  3. What command is used to initiate an inventory update using the jamf binary?
    The recon command is used to initiate an inventory update with the jamf binary: sudo jamf recon.

Practice

  1. Open Terminal on a test Mac enrolled in Jamf Pro.

  2. Run the command pwd. What value is returned?

  3. Run the command sudo jamf recon and read the output. What happened?

  4. Run the command sudo jamf policy and read the output. What happened?

  5. Run the command jamf help and review what actions are available in the jamf binary.

Resources

Jamf Pro Documentation

Terminal User Guide

Apple