Deploying Unattended Robots - Community License

Unattended robots are used in automating tasks that do not require human supervision. They usually run in virtual environments on dedicated machines, and the automations are controlled from Orchestrator.

An unattended automation can be started manually from Orchestrator when needed, but can also be scheduled if the task has to start at a specific interval (daily, hourly, weekly) or at a specific time and date (end of week).

This document guides you through the process of running your first unattended automation using the Community licensed version of UiPath, starting with building the automation, setting up the environment, and running the unattended process.

To run an unattended automation, the following steps need to be taken:

1. Create the automation and publish it to Orchestrator

To provide a real life example, let's suppose we need to make a backup of log files on a server every day at 9 AM. For that, we need to copy the log file from that day to another folder. In this example, we copy a file called "Logs.txt" from the "Logs" folder to the "Old Logs" folder, overwriting the backup each time.

1. Create a new process, add the Copy File activity, configure the fields/paths to the files, and select the Overwrite option so that the newly copied file can replace the previous file every day.

   
   

   

   
   
2. Publish the Process to Orchestrator.
3. Click the Publish button to the right of the Studio ribbon,
4. In the Publish properties tab, enter a name for the package.
5. In the Publish options tab, for the Publish to option, select Orchestrator Tenant Processes Feed, the location where unattended robots can access the automation.

6. Click Publish.

   For more information, see About Publishing Automation Projects in the Studio Guide.

   
   

   

   
   
7. In Orchestrator, create the process that the unattended robot uses for running the automation.
8. Access your Automation Cloud instance at https://cloud.uipath.com, and select your Orchestrator tenant.
9. In Orchestrator, select the Shared Folder > Processes, and then click the Plus button on the right side to open the Add Process page.

10. Select the package and click Create to add the process to the Shared Folder.

    
    

    

    
    
    Note: Keep in mind that you are working with two entities in this process. The first entity is you, the developer who creates and publishes the process. The second one is the unattended user that runs the automation and the Robot on the unattended machine.

2. Set up the Windows machine to run the unattended robot

Set up a Windows machine on which to run the unattended robot, ideally this would be a cloud virtual machine that matches the Hardware and Software Requirements. Make sure that the screen saver is disabled on the Windows machine.

For example, you can host your virtual machine in Azure. For details on how to set up a Windows virtual machine in Azure, see Windows VMs Overview.

Other environments such as AWS, VMware, or Citrix are supported as well if they match the Hardware and Software Requirements.

3. Create the unattended robot in Orchestrator

The unattended robot has two components, the Robot user and the Machine it runs on. The robot user is the identity of the Robot that provides permissions and is used to trigger jobs towards the Robot, while the Machine is the one executing the automation.

Machine Templates offer an easier way of deploying machines, as a single machine key can be used by multiple Robots to connect to Orchestrator.

1. Create the robot account.

2. Add the robot account to the Shared folder.

   At this point, the robot account exists only as an identity, with no roles or permissions assigned. Therefore, we need to add it to the Shared folder to gain access to processes published there and to give it the Robot role:
3. In Orchestrator, select the Shared folder > Users, and then click the Assign User or Group button on the right side.
4. Search for and select the robot account from the first list, then select the Robot role from the second list, and then click Assign.
5. Create the unattended robot that runs the automations:
6. Go back to the Shared folder and select More actions > Edit.
7. Select Unattended Robot, enable the toggle to Automatically create an unattended robot for this user, fill in the Windows credentials, and click Update.

The Windows credentials are used by the Robot for permissions and authorization on the unattended machine while running automations.

Note: The credentials you set when creating the Robot in Orchestrator must match the Windows account credentials used on the unattended robot's machine. Open command prompt and use the whoami command on the unattended machine to get this information.

4. Create the unattended machine template.

After the robot account is created, add a new Machine Template with one unattended runtime:

1. In Orchestrator, select the Shared Folder > Machines, and then click the Manage Machine Templates button on the right side.
2. Click the Plus button on the right side to open the Add Machine page.
3. Enter a template name, for example Unattended Machines, assign one unattended runtime, and click Provision.

4. Copy the newly generated machine key for later use.

   
   

   

   
   

4. Install UiPath Studio on the unattended machine

In order to run unattended automations on a machine with a Community License, you need to install UiPathStudio.msi on the unattended machine. If you opt for the Quick Setup during installation, the Robot is deployed in User Mode, meaning that it runs under the user that started it, and has the exact rights as that particular user.

The UiPathStudio.msi installer can be downloaded from the Resource Center or directly from the Automation Cloud home page.

In order to start a job from Orchestrator, the Windows user must be logged on the machine. The User Mode Robot can not run concurrent jobs on different users, regardless of whether the Robot is installed on a Windows Server or not.

After downloading the Community version of UiPath Studio and Robot, you need to connect it to your Orchestrator instance. For unattended automations, it's recommended to use the Machine Key connection.

5. Connect the Robot to Orchestrator

From Studio

After the installation is completed, you are presented with the Get Started screen, which by default asks you to authenticate. Choose to Use Machine Key as it's the recommended configuration for unattended robots. The machine name is filled in automatically, all you have to do is type the Orchestrator URL in the form https://cloud.uipath.com/organisation/tenant, the Machine Key you saved when you created the machine template, and click Continue.

From the UiPath Assistant

The connection between the Robot and Orchestrator can also be established from the UiPath Assistant by following the steps below:

1. Open the UiPath Assistant.
2. On the Preferences menu, select Preferences.
3. Navigate to Orchestrator Settings.
4. In the Orchestrator URL field, enter your Orchestrator URL.

5. In the Machine Key field, enter the key you copied earlier when you created the machine template in Orchestrator.

   For details about the differences between machine entities in Orchestrator and when to use each one, see Machines in the Orchestrator Guide.

6. Click Connect. The status should show Connected, Licensed.
   
   

   

   
   
   Note: When setting up the machine, if the setup is based on a virtual environment, you can disconnect the remote session but make sure to leave the unattended user logged on the machine so that the connection to Orchestrator stays active.

6. Test the automation

1. In Orchestrator, select the Shared Folder > Automations > Processes. Look for the process deployed in step 1 and click the Start a Job button on the right side to open the Start Job page.

   
   

   

   
   

2. Choose the user and the machine configured earlier, and then click Start.

   This starts the selected unattended process on the selected machine. You can monitor the job in the Jobs Status section of the Shared Folder in Orchestrator.

   
   

   

   
   

7. Schedule the automation

Let's schedule the automation in this example to run on a daily basis at 9 AM:

1. In Orchestrator, select the Shared Folder > Triggers, and then click the Add button on the right side to open the Create Trigger page.
2. Make sure Time is selected and then provide the required information: enter a name for the trigger, select the process, the user, and the daily recurrence at 9 AM.

3. Click Add.

   
   

   

   
   

Setting the schedule as per the screenshot above triggers the Logs.Backup process to run on the unattended machine on behalf of the selected user every day at 9 AM UTC.