Before
An administrator likely had to authenticate to the device-management system, locate the targeted configuration profile, retrieve its current blocklist, and manually merge the new URLs into the configuration. They then had to submit the updated profile and notify the requesting channel that the change had been distributed.
How it works
- Capture the requested URLs and verify that the requester passes the configured authorization check.
- Authenticate, retrieve the current OS X profile, preserve its existing blocklist entries, and combine them with the new URLs.
- Apply the updated profile and post a confirmation message when the update succeeds.
Workflow details
- Request capture: The workflow receives an incoming request containing URLs to block along with requester and channel information, then extracts the URL values from the submitted text.
- Authorization and authentication: It evaluates the configured authorization check and stops when the requester does not pass it. For an authorized request, it creates an authentication token for the device-management environment.
- Current profile retrieval: The workflow retrieves the targeted OS X configuration profile and converts its configuration data into a usable structure so the current URL blocklist can be identified.
- List merge and update: A script formats the requested URLs and existing entries, prepares an updated configuration payload, and submits it to replace the profile while retaining the current blocklist entries.
- Operational confirmation: After the profile update succeeds, the workflow sends a channel notification stating that the URLs were added to the existing list for the managed browsers, including Google Chrome and Arc Browser.
What changed
An authorized request now drives the complete profile update automatically, including preservation of the existing list and confirmation delivery, while unauthorized requests stop before the change is applied.
Work removed
Manually authenticating, locating and retrieving the configuration profile, inspecting the existing URL list, merging new URLs, formatting the updated payload, submitting the profile change, and notifying the channel.
Expected outcome
Each authorized request can replace roughly five recurring manual actions—profile lookup, list review, list merging, payload preparation, and notification—with one coordinated update.
