Agent lifecycle

How to install, reinstall, update, and remove the Automate agent using the PowerShell module.

All lifecycle operations require an Administrator PowerShell session. The module checks group membership at startup and throws immediately if it detects a non-admin context.

Overview

The LabTech PowerShell module manages the full lifecycle of the ConnectWise Automate agent on a Windows endpoint — from a clean install through routine updates, repairs, and clean removal.

Installing the agent

Install-LTService downloads the agent MSI from the server and runs a silent install. Two authentication methods are supported: a server password (classic) and an installer token (token-based, no plain-text password required).

Server password

Install-LTService `
    -Server 'https://automate.example.com' `
    -ServerPassword 'sQWZzEDYKFFnTT0yP56vgA==' `
    -LocationID 42 `
    -TrayPort 42000 `
    -Hide

Parameter	Required	Description
-Server	Yes	URL to the Automate server used to download the MSI.
-ServerPassword	Yes (this method)	Server system password (SELECT SystemPassword FROM config;).
-LocationID	No	Location the agent registers into. Defaults to 1.
-TrayPort	No	Port LTSvc.exe listens on for tray communication. Defaults to 42000.
-Hide	No	Hides the agent from Add/Remove Programs after install.
-SkipDotNet	No	Skips the .NET 3.5 check. Use when .NET 4.0+ is already present.
-Force	No	Bypasses some pre-install checks, including prior-install detection.
-NoWait	No	Returns immediately after the MSI finishes without waiting for agent registration.

Installer token

Install-LTService `
    -Server 'https://automate.example.com' `
    -InstallerToken 'abc123-token' `
    -LocationID 42 `
    -TrayPort 42000

The -InstallerToken parameter enables MSI download via a customized deployment token instead of the server password. Tokens must match the pattern [0-9a-z-]+.

Installer tokens are the preferred method for new deployments. They avoid embedding the server system password in scripts and support Automate 2024 Patch 7+ ZIP-bundle installers automatically.

Full install with all options

Install-LTService `
    -Server 'https://automate.example.com' `
    -ServerPassword 'sQWZzEDYKFFnTT0yP56vgA==' `
    -LocationID 42 `
    -TrayPort 42001 `
    -Hide `
    -SkipDotNet `
    -Force `
    -NoWait

Confirming registration

After installation completes, use Get-LTServiceInfo to verify the agent received an ID from the server. An ID of 1 or higher means the agent has checked in successfully.

$info = Get-LTServiceInfo
if ($info.ID -ge 1) {
    Write-Output "Agent registered. ID: $($info.ID) | LocationID: $($info.LocationID)"
} else {
    Write-Warning "Agent not yet registered."
}

Get-LTServiceInfo reads from HKLM:\SOFTWARE\LabTech\Service and returns a rich object with server addresses, version, tray port, location, and more:

Get-LTServiceInfo | Select-Object ID, LocationID, Server, Version, TrayPort, BasePath

Updating the agent

Update-LTService downloads the update package from the server and applies it without a full reinstall.

# Update to the version currently advertised by the server
Update-LTService

# Update to a specific version
Update-LTService -Version '120.240'

Omitting -Version instructs the module to query the server for its current advertised version and apply that. The function will warn and exit if the installed version is already at or above the requested version.

The update process:

1. Stops LTService and LTSvcMon
2. Downloads LabtechUpdate_<version>.zip from the server
3. Extracts and runs the updater
4. Restarts the services

Reinstalling / repairing

Redo-LTService (alias: ReInstall-LTService) performs a full uninstall followed by a fresh install in a single call. It reads the existing server address and location from the registry automatically, so you do not need to supply them if the agent is currently installed.

1. Call Redo-LTService

   # Let the module read current settings from the registry
   Redo-LTService
   
   # Override server and location explicitly
   Redo-LTService `
       -Server 'https://automate.example.com' `
       -ServerPassword 'sQWZzEDYKFFnTT0yP56vgA==' `
       -LocationID 42
   

   Internally, Redo-LTService calls Uninstall-LTService -Force then waits 20 seconds before calling Install-LTService. The -Force flag on the uninstall step is always passed, so probe-agent detection does not block the operation at the uninstall stage.

2. Verify the reinstall

   $info = Get-LTServiceInfo
   Write-Output "New Agent ID: $($info.ID)"
   

Probe agent caution. Redo-LTService will refuse to run on an agent flagged as a probe (Probe = 1 in the registry) unless you pass -Force. The same applies to Uninstall-LTService. Always confirm whether an endpoint is a probe before running lifecycle operations.

$info = Get-LTServiceInfo
if ($info.Probe -eq '1') {
    Write-Warning "This is a probe agent. Use -Force to override."
}

Backing up before changes

New-LTServiceBackup copies the agent’s registry keys under HKLM\SOFTWARE\LabTechBackup and copies the LTSVC folder to <BasePath>Backup. Run it before any destructive operation.

New-LTServiceBackup

You can also pass -Backup directly to Uninstall-LTService or Redo-LTService to trigger the backup automatically:

Uninstall-LTService -Backup
Redo-LTService -Backup -Server 'https://automate.example.com' -ServerPassword 'sQWZzEDYKFFnTT0yP56vgA=='

To restore or inspect backup data:

Get-LTServiceInfoBackup

Uninstalling the agent

Uninstall-LTService stops all services, downloads the uninstall MSI and Agent_Uninstall.exe from the server, runs both, scrubs remaining files under %windir%\LTSVC, and removes all known registry keys.

# Use the server address already stored in the registry
Uninstall-LTService

# Specify the server explicitly and take a backup first
Uninstall-LTService `
    -Server 'https://automate.example.com' `
    -Backup `
    -Force

Parameter	Description
-Server	Server URL used to download uninstall utilities. Falls back to the registry value if omitted.
-Backup	Runs New-LTServiceBackup before uninstalling.
-Force	Allows uninstall to proceed on probe agents.

If the server is unreachable, the uninstaller falls back to downloading Agent_Uninstall.exe from https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets-cp/assets/Agent_Uninstall.exe and continues the scrub process without the MSI step.

Complete lifecycle workflow

1. Back up the current agent

   New-LTServiceBackup
   
2. Check agent status

   Get-LTServiceInfo | Select-Object ID, Server, Version, LocationID
   
3. Update in place

   Update-LTService
   
4. Reinstall if update is insufficient

   Redo-LTService -Backup
   
5. Uninstall completely

   Uninstall-LTService -Backup -Force