SpiderCrab

Execute PowerShell scripts via an ASP.NET Web API endpoint

Setup

The SpiderCrab agent installs a Windows service.

Install with Chocolatey

choco install spidercrab -y

A local security group SpiderCrab Operators is created. Grant users and groups permissions to invoke scripts by adding them here.

Customize

Modify SpiderCrab.Agent.exe.config to specify:

• the port that Web API listens on (don't forget to open the incoming port if you have a firewall enabled)

Modify the Windows service entry to configure:

• the account the service runs as (you will probably have to configure urlacl for accounts other than Local System)

Usage

If you have followed the steps above, you will now have a Web API endpoint that will accept PowerShell scripts when sent to http://{machine-name}:9990/api/agent per the following example:

{
  "correlationId": "{any string value}",
  "scriptBlock": "Get-Process | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name -Unique"
}

or, if you prefer XML:

<ExecuteScriptRequest>
  <CorrelationId>{any string value}</CorrelationId>
  <ScriptBlock>Get-Process | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name -Unique</ScriptBlock>
</ExecuteScriptRequest>

Next steps

• Hook into your service desk application to automate customer requests
• Automate DevOps tasks: collect script parameters and approvals in your workflow system ( SharePoint, K2, etc.) then call out to SpiderCrab to spin up environments in Azure or VMWare