Introducing the action language

After a Fixlet identifies a potential problem on a computer, it offers to fix it with an IBM BigFix shell command, called an action script. Although there are other ways to create scripts, the most powerful method is to use the IBM BigFix Action Language, because it integrates tightly with the relevance engine.

Many action commands allow or require parameters. Those parameters can either be hardcoded (static) values or expressions that are evaluated and inserted by the IBM BigFix relevance engine. These are called substitution variables and they let you create scripts that are finely targeted and highly flexible. The exact relevance expression that triggered the action can be used in your action script, ensuring a perfect match between the problem and the correction. All commands may perform substitution on their arguments before processing them, with a few noted exceptions.

This document describes all the IBM BigFix action commands, with specific examples. At the bottom of each action topic is a version number, such as Version 7.2 and above. This represents the first version that is compatible with the given command. Some actions are marked "Windows Only," and will fail on UNIX or Macintosh systems.