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Box Tools Silent install for MacOS with JAMF

  • June 25, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 10 views
R

I have followed the documentation on how to silently install Box Tools for a user on our JAMF managed machines, and the install fails unless I run it through self service.  
I have the install policy triggering on user login, and have tried to add different things to the install script to delay execution to guarantee it’s not running too quickly, but no matter what I add to the script, the install fails unless it is run through Self Service.   

 

I was wondering if anyone has had success silently installing Box Drive through a JAMF policy, not user initiated through Self-Service?

 

Thanks!

      1 reply

      Jey Bueno Box
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      • Jey Bueno Box
      • Community Manager
      • June 26, 2026

      👋 Hi ​@RMAns2026, welcome to the Box Community!


      To silently install Box Tools on macOS using a JAMF policy (triggered at user login rather than user-initiated through Self-Service), you must execute the installer package (.pkg) in the context of the currently logged-in user.


      Because the Mac admin installer (.pkg) installs Box Tools directly into the user’s home directory (~/Library/Application Support/Box/Box Edit/), running the installer as the root user (which is JAMF’s default execution context) will fail to target the correct user’s home directory or fail to launch the required background processes.


      📌 Silent Installation Steps for JAMF Policy


      You should configure your JAMF policy with the following workflow:

      1. Stage the Installer:
        Configure your policy to copy the BoxToolsInstaller.pkg to a local, shared folder on the target machine that is accessible by all users (for example, /Users/Shared/).

      2. Configure the Login Trigger:
        Set the JAMF policy trigger to run at Login.

      3. Add the Installation Script:
        Add a script to your JAMF policy that dynamically identifies the currently logged-in user and runs the installer under their user context using sudo -u. Use the following commands in your script:

        # Identify the currently logged-in user
        currentUser=`/bin/ls -la /dev/console | /usr/bin/awk '{print $3}'` 

        # Run the installer as the logged-in user targeting their home directory
        sudo -u ${currentUser} installer -pkg /Users/Shared/BoxToolsInstaller.pkg -target CurrentUserHomeDirectory


      Learn more here:  Large Scale Deployments: Box Tools


      ✅ Why This Resolves the Issue

      • User Context Execution: Running sudo -u ${currentUser} ensures that the installer runs with the permissions and environment of the active user session. This allows the installer to correctly write to ~/Library/Application Support/Box/Box Edit/ and launch the background helper applications (Box Edit.app and Box Local Com Server.app).
      • Target Parameter: Specifying -target CurrentUserHomeDirectory is required for the macOS installer command to correctly unpack the files into the active user’s home directory rather than the root system directory.


      If you need further assistance, please submit a ticket to our Product Support. Thank you!

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