Installing the Agent

Deploy the MaxRMM agent using a PowerShell one-liner, manual install, or silent deployment.

Prerequisites

A MaxRMM account with an active subscription or trial
An install key — generate one from Settings → Install Keys in the dashboard
Administrator access on the target Windows machine
Outbound HTTPS (port 443) to agents.maxrmm.com and releases.maxrmm.com

Option 1: PowerShell One-Liner (Recommended)

Open an elevated PowerShell window (Run as Administrator) and run:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "irm 'https://releases.maxrmm.com/install.ps1' | iex" -Key IK-your-key-here

This script will:

Create the install directory at C:\Program Files\MaxRMM\
Download maxrmm-agent.exe from https://releases.maxrmm.com/latest/maxrmm-agent.exe
Run the agent installer with your install key
Register the agent with wss://agents.maxrmm.com
Install and start the MaxRMM Agent Windows service

Option 2: Manual Install

If you prefer to download and install manually:

1. Download the agent binary

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://releases.maxrmm.com/latest/maxrmm-agent.exe" `
  -OutFile "C:\Program Files\MaxRMM\maxrmm-agent.exe" -UseBasicParsing

2. Run the installer

& "C:\Program Files\MaxRMM\maxrmm-agent.exe" --install --key IK-your-key-here --server wss://agents.maxrmm.com

3. Verify the service is running

Get-Service "MaxRMM Agent" | Format-Table Name, Status, StartType

Expected output:

Name          Status  StartType
----          ------  ---------
MaxRMM Agent  Running Automatic

Option 3: Silent Install (Mass Deployment)

For deploying via GPO, SCCM, Intune, or other MDM tools, use the silent install flags:

maxrmm-agent.exe --install --key IK-your-key-here --server wss://agents.maxrmm.com --silent

The --silent flag suppresses all console output and exit codes. Exit codes:

Exit Code	Meaning
`0`	Success — agent installed and service started
`1`	General error — check logs at `C:\Program Files\MaxRMM\logs\`
`2`	Invalid or expired install key
`3`	Network error — could not reach the MaxRMM server
`4`	Insufficient permissions — must run as Administrator

Install Flags Reference

Flag	Required	Description
`--install`	Yes	Run in install mode (registers as a Windows service)
`--key <key>`	Yes	Install key from the dashboard (format: `IK-xxxxxxxxxxxx`)
`--server <url>`	Yes	WebSocket server URL (default: `wss://agents.maxrmm.com`)
`--silent`	No	Suppress all console output; communicate via exit codes only
`--log-level <level>`	No	Override default log level (`info`, `debug`, `warn`, `error`)
`--report-interval <seconds>`	No	Override telemetry report interval (default: `60`)

Verify Installation

After installation, verify the agent is working correctly:

Check the Windows service

Get-Service "MaxRMM Agent"

Check the registry

Get-ItemProperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\MaxRMM\Agent"

This should show the agent ID, server URL, and configuration values.

Check the dashboard

The agent should appear in Agents within 30 seconds with a green "online" status indicator.

Check the agent log

Get-Content "C:\Program Files\MaxRMM\logs\agent.log" -Tail 20

A healthy agent log shows periodic telemetry reports and WebSocket heartbeats.

Deploying to Multiple Machines

For bulk deployment, you can use the same install key across many machines. The key tracks how many agents have been registered against it. Use these approaches:

Group Policy (GPO): Deploy the one-liner as a startup script
SCCM / Intune: Package maxrmm-agent.exe with the --silent flag as a Win32 app
Email install link: From the dashboard, click "Send Install Link" on your install key to email a clickable install script to end users
RMM migration: If migrating from another RMM tool, use that tool's scripting to deploy the MaxRMM agent in parallel