PharmAutomateMerchant guide
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Getting started

Install the agent

Get the installer

In the Merchant Portal, use the Download agent link below the main menu. It always serves the current release, named PharmAutomate-Setup-<version>.exe.

You will also need:

  • the activation key for this computer, copied and ready to paste (Register a device);
  • a Windows administrator account for the one-time UAC approval.

Run the installer

  1. Double-click PharmAutomate-Setup-<version>.exe and approve the Windows administrator (UAC) prompt.
  2. If Windows SmartScreen appears — "Windows protected your PC" — click More info, then Run anyway. This appears because the installer is distributed privately to pharmacies rather than through the Microsoft Store.
  3. Follow the wizard. On the Activate PharmAutomate page, paste your activation key into the Activation key: field. It displays as dots for privacy.
  4. Optionally tick the desktop-shortcut task — it is off by default. Click through to finish.

Note: The key is required. Leaving it blank stops the wizard with "An activation key is required to finish setup." If you skip or mistype it, you can set it later from the control window with Update API Key — see First run.

What the installer does

  • Installs the application to C:\Program Files\PharmAutomate and adds a PharmAutomate entry to the Start Menu (plus Uninstall PharmAutomate).
  • Writes the activation into the operator's profile at %USERPROFILE%\.pharmautomate\.env — the account that will actually run the agent, not the elevated admin account used to install.
  • Leaves an existing configuration alone, so operator tweaks survive an upgrade.
  • Removes any leftover scheduled run tasks from older builds. The auto-updater task is deliberately kept.

Important: The installer does not register a scheduled task that starts automation on a timer. In this build the agent runs when a human clicks Start, and then keeps itself going by sleeping and waking. See Start automation and Schedules.

If the wizard's progress line reads "Registering scheduled tasks…", that step is now the cleanup pass described above.

If the agent asks for the key on first start

That means the activation landed in a different Windows profile than the one running the agent — usually because the agent was started from the administrator account used to install. Sign in as the operator account, open PharmAutomate, and use Update API Key.

Uninstalling

Use Windows Installed apps → PharmAutomate → Uninstall. It removes the program directory, clears PharmAutomate logs from every profile, and deletes any PharmAutomate* scheduled tasks.