Workiva Support Center

At this time, GroundRunners can be installed on the following operating system families with no external library dependencies:

• Windows and Windows Server
• macOS
• Linux distros and derivatives
• RedHat, Fedora, AmazonLinux
• Debian/Ubuntu

Workiva strives to support all modern versions of the OS families listed above. We cannot, however, support any operating system that has been designated as "end of life" by its vendor. These older operating systems pose potential security risks and should be updated to a current version as soon as possible. Learn more about our end-of-life policy.

Note: Each operating system's support schedule is set by the individual vendor. For example, Microsoft's support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020; Workiva's support for Windows 7 ended on the same date.

Hardware requirements

While GroundRunners require limited server resources, we recommend at least:

• 512MB of available random access memory (RAM)
• 100GB of available disk space

Note: To help calculate the required disk space, know that a chain with five commands that each produce 10MB ephemeral outputs requires 50MB to complete.

The recommended host configuration includes a virtual machine configured with:

• Two to four processors
  

  Note: ARM-based processors are not compatible with GroundRunners.

• 8GB of system memory
• A solid state drive (SSD) storage device

This server must be available 24/7 to communicate with the GroundRunner.

By default, GroundRunners use a local administrative account without access to remote resources such as shared drives.

To access a shared resource such as a Windows UNC path, start the GroundRunner under a user account with adequate privileges to the resource. If using a user account other than the default local system administrator, grant it permissions to manage the GroundRunner's installation directory to enable automatic updates.

To install via command line interface, you must download the GroundRunner's installation to its own directory within your program files (such as c:\Program Files (x86)\wdata). You can then unzip the installation file and extract it to the root of the directory.

You can then install the GroundRunner :

1. From the Windows CLI, run the command c:\Program Files (x86)\wdata\installer.exe install and accept all defaults. 
   • For the path, create a Files folder within the new directory (such as C:\Program Files (x86)\Wdata\Files). 
   • For the authorization hostname (AUTH_HOST):
     • If in North America, enter h.app.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
     • If in Europe, enter h.eu.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
     • If in APAC, enter h.apac.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
   • Enter your company token.
2. Delete all files from the directory except the GroundRunner executable directory.
3. Select whether to run the GroundRunner as a service or a foreground process.
   • If running as a service, do one of the following:
     • In the CLI, enter the command sc start GroundRunner
     • In Windows Service Manager, start the HostRunner service
   • If running as a foreground process, enter these commands in the CLI:

     cd c:\Program Files (x86)\wdata
     GroundRunner.exe

Your GroundRunner has now been installed and is ready for activation.

Step 1. Install the GroundRunner

1. Download the GroundRunner's installation file to its own directory, such as /home/<username>/wdata/.
2. In a CLI, unzip the installation file:
   • For Linux, use the command unzip linux_amd64_ground_runner.zip
   • For macOS, use the command unzip GroundRunner.zip
3. Enter the details of the GroundRunner.
   • For both Linux and Mac OS, use command ./installer install
   • For the authorization hostname (AUTH_HOST):
     • If in North America, enter h.app.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
     • If in Europe, enter h.eu.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
     • If in APAC, enter h.apac.wdesk.com/s/wdata/oc/app
   • Enter your company token.
4. Delete all files from the directory except the GroundRunner executable directory.

Step 2. Select whether to run as a service or foreground process

In the CLI, enter the following commands to run the GroundRunner as either a background service or a foreground process.

Background service

If executed from the default OS init program, you can run it as a background service:

/home/[username]/wdata/Contents/GroundRunnerMonitor                  

Foreground process

To run it as a foreground process with logs written to console:

cd home/[username]/wdata/Contents
sudo ./GroundRunner               

To run it as a foreground process with logs written to logfile:

cd home/[username]/wdata/Contents
sudo ./GroundRunnerMonitor               

1. Download the latest GroundRunner for your operating system.
2. In Windows Services Manager, stop the GroundRunner service.
3. Move the downloaded GroundRunner installation file to its own directory—such as c:\groundrunner_upgrade—and unzip its files.
4. Copy and paste GroundRunner.exe and GroundRunnerMonitor.exe to the directory where the GroundRunner binaries are installed.
5. In Windows Services Manager, restart the GroundRunner service.

1. Download the latest GroundRunner for your operating system.
2. On the server hosting the GroundRunner, go to the directory where the service runs.
3. In a CLI, stop the GroundRunner service.
4. Move the downloaded GroundRunner installation file to its own directory—such as /home/<username>/groundrunner_upgrade/—and unzip its files.
5. Copy and paste GroundRunner.exe and GroundRunnerMonitor.exe to the directory where the GroundRunner binaries are installed.
6. To restart the GroundRunner service, enter these commands in the CLI:

   cd /home/<username>/wdata/Contents
   ./GroundRunner

1. Stop the GroundRunner service.
   • If running as a service, use Windows Service Manager or enter the command sc stop GroundRunnerin the CLI.
   • If running as a foreground process, press the key sequence <ctrl> <c>.
2. In the CLI, as an administrator, enter the command installer.exe uninstall.
3. Delete the GroundRunner executable directory.

In the CLI, stop the GroundRunner service and delete its executable directory (e.g., /home/<username>/wdata/Contents).