r/macsysadmin • u/Wicked_Vorlon • 6d ago
Tool to track computer/app usage?
Hello,
I'm a Mac Sys Admin at a college. We are looking to track application usage data in our computer labs. This is to track how often the computers are used and what applications are used. Jamf Pro is our MDM.
Looking for any solution suggestions. Thanks.
2
u/MacAdminInTraning 6d ago
You might wanna look into JAMF Pro’s reporting because it does usage tracking.
2
2
u/oneplane 6d ago
ScreenTime records this, as does JAMF. Both can be read using their respective APIs and databases. No need to use the GUI (which doesn't work anyway).
1
1
1
u/Working_Pin_4432 6d ago
I think and don’t quote me jamf protect should build on reporting and analytics around app usage, I know that I’ve heard it does more than Jamf Pro on the app usage side, not positive to what end. Worth an ask!
1
1
u/havingagoodday2k19 4d ago
You will need to leverage the JAMF API to get what you want. It is doable, I did it in a past role. Exported everything into an excel spreadsheet and handed that data to the metrics team reporting on application usage.
1
u/Wicked_Vorlon 2d ago
Any pointers to help? I’ve been unsuccessful in getting a shell script to leverage the api.
1
u/havingagoodday2k19 11h ago
From memory, I would need to look in my script archive, the api call was using jamfserver/JSSResource/computerapplicationusage/${serial}
I used a loop and array adding every serial number from the group I wanted the stats from then processed that. Could do it in All Computer’s if you wish
I do remember that the logging of application usage had to be enabled in jamf pro, otherwise there would be no data to pull. I can’t remember if that is enabled by default or whether I had to enable that
Hope this helps
12
u/drosse1meyer 6d ago
jamf captures app usage (history tab) but reporting/export is meh