Install the Quickstart tools

The Quickstart tool is a Python script, reports.py, that exports reports from Netwrix Privilege Secure for Discovery and pushes changes back. This page covers installing the tool and connecting it to the product.

Prerequisites

• A Windows or Linux workstation with Python 3.10 or later and pip. The tool exits with an error on earlier versions.
• A desktop session on that workstation. The tool stores the API key in the operating system keyring, such as Windows Credential Manager. On a server without a keyring, for example a headless Ubuntu Server, the tool stops with a NoKeyringError.
• Network access from the workstation to the Privilege Secure for Discovery server over HTTPS.
• An administrator in Privilege Secure for Discovery, and an API key linked to that administrator.

Download the tools

1. Download the Quickstart tools archive. Replace <major.minor> and <version> with the release that you run, for example 26.09 and 26.09.1.

   https://releases.netwrix.com/products/privilegesecure-discovery/<major.minor>/privilegesecure-discovery-quickstart-tools-<version>.zip

2. Extract the archive. The quickstart folder contains reports.py, requirements.txt, a README.md file, and an HTML usage guide.

Install Python

1. Download Python 3.10 or later from python.org.
2. Run the installer. On Windows, select the option to add Python to the PATH environment variable, and make sure the installer includes pip.

Install the dependencies

The tool needs the keyring, XlsxWriter, requests, and pyexcel-xlsx packages. The requirements.txt file lists them.

1. Open a command prompt in the quickstart folder.

2. On Linux, create and activate a virtual environment. Recent Ubuntu releases refuse to install packages into the system Python.

   python3 -m venv .venv
   source .venv/bin/activate

3. Install the packages:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

If the command returns a NewConnectionError with an [Errno 100XX] code, a firewall or proxy blocks Python from reaching the internet.

If your network uses a proxy that inspects TLS traffic and pip fails certificate verification, you can add trusted hosts. This option turns off certificate verification for those hosts, so use it only in that case:

pip install --trusted-host pypi.org --trusted-host files.pythonhosted.org -r requirements.txt

Create an API key

1. Select Configure > API Keys, and then select Create API Key.
2. Enter an App Name.
3. Set Permissions to All API's. A key with the Registration permission can't run the tool. The tool fails with the response Scope not allowed by token.
4. In Linked Users, search for an administrator and select the user.
5. Select Save.
6. Copy the API Key Secret to a secret manager.

warning

You can't view the API key secret again after you close the dialog box. If you didn't save it, revoke the key and create a new one.

The first time you run the tool, it prompts for the API key and saves it in the operating system keyring. Run the tool with --no-save-api to avoid saving the key. Run it with --rm-api-key to remove a saved key. For more information about keys, see Create and manage API keys.

Find the user ID

The tool needs the ID of the linked user. On the Configure > API Keys page, the Linked Users column shows the ID of each linked user. Hover over the ID to see the user name. Select the ID to copy it.

Configure the tool

The tool reads its settings from a config.json file in the same folder as reports.py. Create the file with the following content:

{
  "baseUrl": "https://<server-fqdn>/api/v1",
  "userId": "<admin-user-id>",
  "provisionUser": "<account-name>"
}

Field	Description
baseUrl	URL of the Privilege Secure for Discovery API.
userId	ID of the administrator that the API key links to.
provisionUser	An account name to look for in the report. The Computer Data sheet gets a column with this name that shows TRUE for systems that have a matching administrator account.

All three fields are required, and the file needs double quotes around every key and string value. The tool ignores the built-in defaults when config.json exists. The config.json file stays in place when you replace the tool files with a newer release.

If you don't create the file, the tool uses the config block near the top of reports.py. Its defaults are https://localhost/api/v1, which works only on the server itself, and a placeholder user ID. Edit the block if you prefer not to use a file.

Verify the installation

Run the tool with the help option:

python reports.py --help

The output lists the available arguments. To export your first report and make changes, see Report and update systems.