Connecting Robots to Orchestrator

This article outlines how to choose the Robot to Orchestrator connection method depending on the robot authentication mechanism set in Orchestrator. UiPath provides multiple robot authentication methods, ranging from expiring token authentication to authentication with tokens that never expire.

The three available authentication mechanisms are the resulting state of two Orchestrator tenant settings located on the Settings page > Security tab.

What Are the Types of Robot Authentication

Standard Authentication

Allow only connections with authentication tokens that never expire by clearing both authentication options on the Settings page > Security tab.

• Allow both user authentication and robot key authentication - not selected

• Enforce user authentication, disable robot key authentication - not selected

Type	Implications
Attended	Restrict attended robot authentication in the Assistant to Machine Key. There is no Sign in option displayed in the Assistant, hence users cannot connect Studio and the Assistant to Orchestrator using their credentials.
Unattended	Unattended robots require Machine Key connections at all times.

Hybrid Authentication

Allow both standard connections with tokens that don't expire and connections with tokens that expire by enabling Allow both user authentication and robot key authentication and clearing Enforce user authentication, disable robot key authentication.

Allow both user authentication and robot key authentication - selected

Enforce user authentication, disable robot key authentication - not selected

Implications
Attended	You can use interactive sign-in to authenticate attended robots. The Sign in option is displayed in the Assistant allowing users to connect Studio and the Assistant to Orchestrator using their credentials, but this is not required.
Unattended	Unattended robots require Machine Key connections at all times.

Secure Authentication

Allow only connections with tokens that expire by enabling both authentication options on the Settings page > Security tab. User login is required to make Orchestrator HTTP requests, run attended robots, or view processes in the Assistant.

Allow both user authentication and robot key authentication - selected

Enforce user authentication, disable robot key authentication - selected

Implications
Attended	Restrict attended robot authentication in the Assistant to interactive user sign-in. Attended robot authentication requires sign-in otherwise the user won't see their associated processes in the Assistant and the robot appears as "Connected, Unlicensed".
Unattended	Unattended robots require Machine Key connections at all times.
Unattended in Attended Mode	For unattended, the host machine is connected and licensed in unattended mode so the designated way to execute processes is Orchestrator. If you want to use the machine in attended mode (opening the Assistant) when user authentication is enforced, you need to sign in, otherwise you cannot see the processes in the Assistant, and the robot appears as "Connected, Unlicensed".

Warning:

This authentication method requires recompiling the workflows that use Orchestrator activities or make direct HTTP calls to the Orchestrator API utilizing v2020.10 activity packages or higher.

There is a chance job execution will fail if at least one of below dependencies are used in an automation project:

• UiPath.System.Activities < 20.10.0
• UiPath.Persistence.Activities < 1.1.7
• UiPath.DataService.Activities < 20.10.0
• UiPath.Testing.Activities < 1.2.0

Use the Project Dependencies Mass Update Tool in Studio to update process dependencies to versions greater than or equal to those provided above. Test before deploying in production.

Connecting Attended Robots to Orchestrator

Interactive Sign-In

Use interactive sign-in to authenticate attended robots. The Sign in option is displayed in the Assistant allowing users to connect Studio and the Assistant to Orchestrator using their credentials. Compatible with:

• Hybrid Authentication
• Secure Authentication

1. Open the Assistant.
2. On the Preferences menu, select Sign In. You are directed to the Login page of your Orchestrator instance.
3. Log in as usual.
4. Once your identity is confirmed, the Assistant is populated with the processes in the folders your account has access to. Learn more about interactive authentication.
   Note:

   • When using interactive sign-in, there is no need to create

     machine objects in Orchestrator.

   • You require the View permission on Packages at the tenant level to download packages and libraries.

   Important: Interactive sign-in is not supported in a classic folder context.

Using the Machine Key in the Assistant

Use the machine key generated in Orchestrator to authenticate attended robots. Compatible with:

• Standard Authentication

• Hybrid Authentication

  Note:

  • The person handling the Orchestrator configuration in the company should provide the attended users and developers with the correct Orchestrator URL and machine key. Machine objects do not need to be assigned to Orchestrator folders, only accounts.
  • Multiple accounts working on the same machine each require a robot created in Orchestrator.

1. Open the Assistant.
2. On the Preferences menu, select Preferences. The Preferences window is displayed.
   
   

   

   
   
3. Navigate to Orchestrator Settings.
4. In the Orchestrator URL field, enter Orchestrator’s web address, such as https://myOrchestrator.uipath.com/.
5. In the Machine Key field, enter the key generated by the machine entity in Orchestrator.
6. Click Connect. The robot is now connected to Orchestrator.
   
   

   

   
   

Using the Machine Key in the Command Line

1. Save the machine key generated in Orchestrator to the Clipboard or a file.
2. Open Command Prompt.
3. Go to the directory where your robot is installed (by default C:\Program Files\UiPath\Studio). For example: cd C:\Program Files\UiPath\Studio.
4. Use the --connect, -url, and -key command-line arguments in conjunction with the Orchestrator URL and machine key. For example: UiRobot.exe --connect -url https://demo.uipath.com/ -key ba1e4809-2f64-4965-bae2-efda62d20164. The robot is now connected to Orchestrator.
   Note: Replace "https://demo.uipath.com/" with your actual Orchestrator URL.

Connecting Unattended Robots to Orchestrator

Using the Machine Key in the Assistant

Use the machine key generated in Orchestrator to authenticate unattended robots. Machine key connections are required at all times for unattended execution. Compatible with:

• Standard Authentication
• Hybrid Authentication

• Secure Authentication

Note: Administrator privileges are required to perform this procedure for Service Mode Robots.

Important:

The host machine is connected and licensed in unattended mode so you can execute unattended processes using Orchestrator.

If you want to use the machine in attended mode (opening the Assistant) when user authentication is enforced, you need to sign in, otherwise you cannot see the processes in the Assistant, and the robot appears as "Connected, Unlicensed".

1. Open the Assistant.
2. On the Preferences menu, select Preferences. The Preferences window is displayed.
   
   

   

   
   
3. Navigate to Orchestrator Settings.
4. In the Orchestrator URL field, enter Orchestrator’s web address, such as https://myOrchestrator.domain.local/.
5. In the Machine Key field, enter the key generated by the machine entity in Orchestrator.
6. Click Connect. The robot is now connected to Orchestrator.
   
   

   

   
   

   Note:

   • Machine objects need to be assigned to folders in Orchestrator.

Using the Machine Key in the Command Line

1. Save the machine key generated in Orchestrator to the Clipboard or a file.
2. Open Command Prompt.
3. Go to the directory where your robot is installed (by default C:\Program Files\UiPath\Studio). For example: cd C:\Program Files\UiPath\Studio.
4. Use the --connect, -url, and -key command-line arguments in conjunction with the Orchestrator URL and machine key. For example: UiRobot.exe --connect -url https://demo.uipath.com/ -key ba1e4809-2f64-4965-bae2-efda62d20164. The robot is now connected to Orchestrator.
   Note: Replace "https://demo.uipath.com/" with your actual Orchestrator URL.