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Install the Scan Agent manually

Use manual installation to test the Willow Scan Agent on a few devices before an MDM rollout. For a repeatable rollout across managed devices, use MDM deployment instead.

The exact commands are pre-filled and copyable in the Scan Agent Setup modal under Manual deployment (without MDM). Copy them from there so the connection values match your organization.

The Scan Agent Setup modal showing the Connection Details panel with Server URL and Auth Token, above the Manual deployment (without MDM) section with copyable macOS and Windows commands

Prerequisites​

  • Admin access to Willow.
  • The generated agent files for your platform from the Scan Agent Setup flow:
    • macOS: .pkg installer and .mobileconfig profile.
    • Windows x64: .zip package and .reg registry policy.
  • Your Server URL and Auth Token from the setup modal's Connection Details. See Scan Agent reference.

macOS​

  1. Install the package. Double-click the .pkg, or run:

    sudo installer -pkg mcp-s-scan.pkg -target /

  2. Apply the config. Do not double-click the .mobileconfig for a manual install. A manually-approved profile installs at user scope, and the Scan Agent runs as a system LaunchDaemon that cannot read it. Instead, write your organization's connection details to the device-scope managed preferences file the agent reads. Substitute your own Server URL and Auth Token from the setup modal's Connection Details:

    sudo mkdir -p "/Library/Managed Preferences" && sudo tee "/Library/Managed Preferences/com.mcp-s-scan.agent.plist" >/dev/null <<'EOF'
    <?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>serverUrl</key>
      <string>https://your-org.mcp-s.com</string>
      <key>authToken</key>
      <string>your-org:your-token</string>
      <key>intervalSeconds</key>
      <integer>60</integer>
    </dict>
    </plist>
    EOF

  3. Start the service:

    sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.mcp-s-scan.agent.plist

The .mobileconfig double-click flow is only appropriate when an MDM pushes the profile at device scope. For a manual install, use the device-scope file as above.

Windows​

  1. Extract the .zip and double-click the .reg file to import the registry policy.

  2. Open PowerShell as Administrator and run the installer:

    powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File install.ps1

  3. Start the agent if the installer did not start it:

    Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "MCP-S-Scan Agent"

Verify the install​

Once the agent runs, it reports to Willow at the next scan interval. Open AI Discovery and confirm the device appears with a recent last scan time. For status checks and log locations, see the management commands in the Scan Agent reference.

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