🧰 What Is Chocolatey For Automate?
Chocolatey For Automate is a purpose-built plugin that integrates the Chocolatey package manager with ConnectWise Automate, a leading Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) platform. This integration empowers Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to centrally manage software across vast networks of Windows machines—from deployment to updates to removals—without manual intervention.
🚀 Scalable Software Management for Thousands of Endpoints
MSPs often oversee environments with hundreds or thousands of client systems. Chocolatey For Automate streamlines this complexity by:
• Leveraging Automate Groups and Searches to target specific machines based on OS, role, or custom criteria.
• Automating software installs and updates using Chocolatey’s vast repository of over 10,000 packages.
• Reducing manual overhead by shifting automation logic from sync services to native Automate Group policies.
This means technicians can define software policies once and let Automate enforce them across all relevant endpoints—whether it’s deploying Zoom to remote workers or updating Notepad++ for developers.
🛠️ Key Features That Make It Indispensable
• Centralized Control: Manage all software actions from within ConnectWise Automate’s familiar interface.
• Real-Time Package Status: View install success, failure, and version details per agent.
• Custom Package Support: Deploy internal or proprietary software alongside public Chocolatey packages.
• Error Handling Improvements: Version 3.6 introduces smarter handling of 429 errors and rate limits, ensuring smoother deployments.
🧩 Seamless Integration with MSP Workflows
Chocolatey For Automate doesn’t just bolt onto Automate—it enhances it. By embedding software management into Automate’s core logic, MSPs gain:
• Predictable automation: Software tasks run as part of scheduled group policies.
• Audit-ready visibility: Logs and dashboards show exactly what was installed, when, and where.
• Client-specific customization: Tailor software stacks per client, department, or machine role.
This level of control is especially valuable for compliance-driven industries like healthcare, finance, and education.
🌐 Why MSPs Love It
• Time savings: Deploy software to thousands of machines in minutes.
• Consistency: Ensure every endpoint has the correct version of required apps.
• Security: Keep software up to date to reduce vulnerabilities.
• Flexibility: Use Chocolatey’s open ecosystem to manage nearly any Windows software.
As one MSP put it, “Chocolatey For Automate lets us treat software like infrastructure—automated, versioned, and reliable.”
