The top 25 IT automation scripts used by our community

One of the best ways to streamline your IT service is with scripts and Automation. The best scripts are the ones that others in our community have already created and used, so you don’t have to make everything from scratch!

How do scripts help you? Scripts automate the manual tasks you do every day. For more info, check out Dave Long’s Beginner’s Guide to Powershell and Automation here.

Automation scripts can be very useful in IT, as they can help to save time and reduce the risk of errors by automating repetitive or time-consuming tasks. They can also be used to ensure that tasks are performed consistently and in accordance with established best practices.

How do you write an automation script?

Writing an automation script can be a complex task, that you can break into six steps:

1. Identify the task or process that you want to automate. This could be anything from deploying new servers to updating software on multiple devices.
2. Determine the inputs and outputs for the script. For example, if you are writing a script to deploy a new server, you will need to specify the configuration settings for the server and the target environment where it will be deployed.
3. Choose a programming language for the script. Some common languages for writing automation scripts include Python, Bash, and PowerShell.
4. Write the code for the script. This will involve breaking down the task or process into individual steps and writing code to automate each step.
5. Test the script to ensure that it is working correctly. This may involve running the script on a test environment and verifying that it performs the task as expected.
6. Document the script, including any input or output parameters, dependencies, and any other relevant information.

Instead of spending hours writing your own IT automation scripts, use our tried-and-tested shared script library!

Log in to Atera to view all shared scripts >>

This is why our Script Library has been so popular and loved by our community.

Of the top 25 we’d like to personally thank the following IT Pros who uploaded some of the top 25 scripts (in order of appearance below):

• Chris Miller
• David Fletcher
• Thomas Zander
• Stanimir Atanasov
• Dave Long
• Warwick Burns
• Johan Brider
• Stuart Ward
• Anze Sustarsic

Here are our 25 most popular scripts!

#25 – Monthly Maintenance

This creates restore points, reboots, deletes temporary files and folders, runs full disk cleanup unattended, and finally reboots again. Made by Chris Miller.

#24 – Extend Outlook Storage Capabilities

This script changes the default of 50GB of Outlook data files (PST/OST) storage to 100GB

#23 – Discover Wi-Fi Passwords

If you ever need a full list of all Wi-Fi profiles and passwords, meet your new best friend, created by IT Pro David Fletcher.

#22 – Enable USB Access

Use this script to allow access to a USB drive.

#21 – List Top 10 Biggest Files From C Drive

Need to know the 10 biggest files from your C:\ Drive? Then just activate this brilliant script, created by Thomas Zander.

#20 – Clean up C Drive

When it’s time to clean up your C drive, use this handy script thanks to Stanimir Atanasov.

#19 – Delete Old Print Jobs

We’ve all been there when you click ‘print’ and wait for literally nothing to happen. No more! With this Powershell script, all print jobs older than 2 days are automatically deleted.

#18 – Clear Temporary Internet Files Only

Whenever Temporary Internet Files need to be cleared, this script gets the job done.

#17 – Resync Time

Use this script to manually synchronize the PC clock with internet time (it automatically synchronizes once a week, if connected to the internet).

#16 – Google Chrome Installer

Whenever Google updates Chrome, you’ll be the first to be using it thanks to this smart script by the Athene Group.

#15 – Rename Computer

Need to change the hostname of your computer? Just use this script, made by Chris Miller.

#14 – Enable WoL

Dave Long made this to Enable Wake on LAN in BIOS, for Dell machines.

#13 – Upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10

This very needed script was made by Warwick Burns, to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 10 in no time flat.

#12 – Disable USB Access

This script prevents using a USB Drive. (Ok, you probably figured that out from the title).

#11 – Windows 10 Bloatware Apps Removal

No need to manually remove programs when you have a script to do it for you. Thanks to Johan Brider, this removes Windows 10 Bloatware apps like People, Bing, and more.

#10 – Cleanup Print Queue

Thanks to Chris Miller, these great stops Print spoolers, deletes queues, and restarts print spooler services.

#9 – Updates Windows 10 to version 2004

Stuart Ward made this to, as you might have guessed, update Windows 10 to version 2004.

#8 – Upgrade to Latest Office Version

Use this to automatically upgrade your PC to the most current Office version.

#7 – Discover WiFi Password on Windows 10

Easily discovers WiFi passwords on Windows 10 using CMD. It’s brilliant.

#6 – Update Windows 10 to version 1909

Anze Sustarsic created this so your Windows 10 can automatically be updated to version 1909. Thanks, Anze!

#5 – Clear All

Not the death star, but close. This script clears all event logs (application and system messages, including errors, information messages, and warnings). Proceed with caution friends.

#4 – Empty Recycle Bin

Why manually go through your Recycle Bin when you can use a script to do it for you. Use this script to automatically take out the trash in Recycle Bin.

#3 – Flush Cache

Everyone wants to flush their cache and with this script, anyone can, on autopilot. This flushes the DNS cache to clear browsing history data with ease.

#2 – Run Windows Cleanup

There’s a reason this came in at number 2. People need to free up their disks! Use this script to Run Windows Cleanup to free up disk space on a computer’s hard drive.

#1 – Delete Temporary Files for All Users

Debuting at number 1, this winner shows how important deleting temporary files is for our community. Use this script to delete Temporary files for all users (including user profiles + Windows Temp) and disable Windows Update Service, to allow the script to run.

Can’t get enough of scripts for your IT environment? It’s your lucky day! There are literally hundreds more scripts in the shared script library, ready for you to use, clone and adapt for your business requirements. Just head to the Admin tab, click Scripts, and then choose the Shared Scripts Library option. Click here to learn more.