VPS & agent

The agent is the X-Buddy program on your Windows VPS. It runs Chrome for your X accounts, does the jobs and reports back over outgoing HTTPS only — no open ports, so the VPS can sit behind NAT.

#Requirements

• Windows with PowerShell 5.1 or later, run as Administrator, in a normal signed-in desktop session (the agent shows real Chrome windows, so it can't run as a background Windows service).
• At least 4 GB of RAM. Plan about 1.5 GB of free RAM per Chrome window. The agent opens 3 at once by default and at most 8.
• Disk: 10 GB free is recommended; the installer stops below 2 GB.
• The installer needs Node.js 20 or later: it installs Node.js 20 LTS when Node.js is missing or older, and installs Google Chrome when it is missing.

The VPS & Agent page shows each machine's open Chrome windows against its limit, RAM and disk use, and a set of checks: Virtual memory, Screen, Chrome profiles excluded from virus scans and Chrome policy. A warning there is advice, not a guarantee that the VPS is ready or broken. When memory or CPU is tight, the agent waits before opening another Chrome.

#Install and pair

1. In X-Buddy, open VPS & Agent → Add VPS.

2. Enter a VPS display name and choose Generate pairing code. The code is valid for 10 minutes; the dialog counts down.

3. Copy the install command. It looks like this:

   [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; irm '<X-Buddy address>/api/public/agent/install?code=<PAIRING_CODE>&lang=en' | iex
   

4. On the VPS, open PowerShell as Administrator, paste the command and press Enter.

5. When the dialog shows Paired, the VPS has checked in. Paired means the machine is connected — it doesn't mean an X account is added or signed in yet.

What the installer does:

• installs into C:\XAuto (the program sits in C:\XAuto\app);
• creates a scheduled task X Auto Agent that starts the agent when Windows signs in, plus X Auto Maintenance;
• offers Windows automatic sign-in, so the agent comes back after a reboot without you opening Remote Desktop;
• puts two shortcuts on the desktop: X Auto Agent and Exit Remote safely.

The -Lang vi or -Lang en installer option only sets the installer's own wording and the shortcut name. Pairing by hand is also possible: in the agent window choose Enter the pairing code, type the 6 characters and choose Pair.

#The agent window

On the VPS, the agent window shows the connection to X-Buddy, the machine and workspace, the last check-in, the machine checks, how many Chrome windows are open, free disk, each X account with its session and safety state, the current jobs, a live log and update progress.

• Language — Follow workspace, Tiếng Việt or English. "Follow workspace" uses the workspace notification language set in X-Buddy; a choice made here stays on this VPS.
• Pause taking jobs / Resume taking jobs — stops the agent from taking new jobs. It doesn't force-stop a job that is already running.
• Open log folder — opens the agent's log files.

#Leave Remote Desktop safely

When you close a Windows Remote Desktop session, Windows can freeze the screen the Chrome windows draw on. Always leave with Exit Remote safely (in the agent window or on the desktop): it hands the session back to the VPS console so your X accounts keep running.

This is about Windows Remote Desktop. It is different from X-Buddy's Remote view, which shows one X account's Chrome inside the web app.

A screen that is too small also stops work: if the VPS display is below 1024×720 (often because the Remote Desktop window is small), jobs wait with VPS display is too small for X. Enlarge or close Remote Desktop to continue.

#Updates

The agent updates itself. Each update is signed; the agent checks the signature and the file's checksum before installing it, and only installs when no job is running and no Remote view is open. It never interrupts work to update.

If a VPS runs a version older than X-Buddy requires, it keeps checking in and updating itself but receives no jobs. Its jobs show VPS needs an update until it catches up.

#Uninstall

Run uninstall.ps1 from C:\XAuto\app\scripts in PowerShell as Administrator.

• Without options, it removes the agent and its scheduled tasks but keeps the Chrome profiles and settings in C:\XAuto, so a reinstall picks up where you left off.
• With -Purge, it deletes everything in C:\XAuto, including the signed-in Chrome profiles of your X accounts. Those X accounts will need to sign in again.

#Related

• Add and sign in X accounts
• Troubleshooting — VPS offline, outdated agent, proxy errors.