JSS_tools

This is a collection of small tool routines to make working with the data returned by python-jss easier.

At their core they turn the XML from the JSS into python data structures. It also converts the strings returned to valid python types where possible.

Included are a small number of utility routines, most notably Convert to convert strings to python data types, Jopen to open up a connection to the JSS, c_attributes_write to write changed extension attributes in a computer record back to the JSS and c_info_write to write changed computer info back to the JSS.

This is currently under development. It is working and passing all tests. The master branch is working, the other branches may not be. UTC and Epoch dates are not converting back 100% at the moment. Since they are only used in certificates and can be considered read only this is not considered critical. There is already an issue open for this.

Development on the Mac side has currently stopped while work is under way to build out the iOS side of things.

For details on the functions pydoc ./jss_tools.py will get you the documentation.

Design decisions

When working with the JSS the most expensive part of the operation is always the query to the JSS. This is why none of these routines actually perform the query. I leave the decision about when to do it to you.

I'm open to any feedback about the structures returned. If you think they could be improved I'm open to suggestions.

If there is an API call not covered that you would like then please reach out. My JSS is not well populated for some things so I have no need for some and no data to test but I can get around that if you can supply the XML returned by your JSS (sanitised, of course, to remove any personal or corporate info).

A Note On Extension Attributes

JAMF do not support an extension attribute boolean type. A boolean type is so useful in programming that I fake it. If you have an EA of type 'String' that contains 'True', 'False', '1' or '0' I convert it to a boolean and convert it back if required. I don't check the type 'Number' for 0 or 1 for obvious reasons.

A Note On Remote Management

To turn on remote management for a computer you need to do three things, set the field to true and supply a management name and password. The password is passed as plain text and converted to SHA256 by the JSS before storage. The plain password field is missing from the XML so this requires some fiddling. There is a special function c_remote that handles it.

doco.md

First cut at some documentation a little better than the docstrings.

examples.py

A tiny file with an example of the new style.

compliance.py

Real world example. Somebody wanted a list of Macs not running the right OS and build so I gave them the output of this.

test.py

My code to test the script. It's not really comprehensive but it does the job.

Notes

I'm reaching out for any users who can provide feedback. Seriously, criticisms and suggestions happily accepted.

Better documentation is in the works. I will also be providing more examples of what can be easily done in Python with jss_tools