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Asset Scripts vs Worksheet Scripts: when to use which
Two Syncro tools with similar names and different purposes. Picking wrong wastes a week. A practical decision rule for when each one is the right tool.
Two Syncro tools with similar names and different purposes. Picking wrong wastes a week.
Newer Syncro users (and a fair number of experienced ones) conflate Asset Scripts and Worksheet Scripts because the naming overlaps and they live near each other in the UI. They do different things. Picking the wrong one means rebuilding the work.
Asset Scripts
An Asset Script is executable code that runs on a Syncro agent, meaning a specific device. PowerShell on Windows, bash/zsh on macOS, whatever the agent supports. Triggered manually, on a schedule, or as part of an asset alert response. Output is captured to the asset's script log.
What they're for:
- Querying device state (installed software, registry keys, file presence, service status)
- Remediation actions (restart a service, clear a temp folder, force a Windows Update scan)
- Configuration (apply a registry setting across all assets in a group, install a new app silently)
- Telemetry collection (gather diagnostic data into the asset record)
They run inside the agent's runtime on the endpoint. They have privileged access to that device. They don't have access to anything outside the device unless you explicitly call out to an API.
Worksheet Scripts
A Worksheet Script is a structured checklist or form that a tech fills in during a ticket. Not executable code. It's a procedural template: fields, dropdowns, instructions, sometimes embedded links to scripts.
What they're for:
- Standardizing how techs handle recurring ticket types (new-hire onboarding, hardware refresh, offboarding)
- Capturing required information consistently (license type, group membership, device requirements)
- Walking less-experienced techs through workflows that need judgment at each step
- Creating an audit record of what was checked and decided
They run inside the tech's brain, guided by the form. They're how you encode workflow, not how you execute it.
The decision rule
Three questions, asked in order:
- Does the work happen on a specific device? If yes, candidate for Asset Script.
- Are the steps deterministic (same inputs, same outputs)? If yes, Asset Script.
- Does the work require human decisions, information gathering across systems, or coordination? If yes, Worksheet Script.
If it's both (a multi-step workflow that includes a deterministic device action), the right answer is Worksheet Script with embedded Asset Script triggers. The tech walks the worksheet; at the right step, they click a button that fires the Asset Script. You get judgment + execution.
Common mistakes I've seen
Trying to automate onboarding entirely with Asset Scripts. Onboarding is a multi-system workflow with decisions at each step (which license tier? which security groups? which company-specific apps?). Asset Scripts can't make those decisions. They need to be given the inputs. Worksheet Scripts collect the inputs from the tech; Asset Scripts execute the install. Use both.
Building a Worksheet Script that just embeds raw PowerShell. If the work is genuinely deterministic and doesn't need a human, an Asset Script is the right call. A Worksheet is overhead the tech has to walk through every time.
Hardcoding device-specific values in an Asset Script. Asset Scripts run on agents. They know which device they're on via the Syncro context variables. Use those. Don't hardcode hostnames; reference the asset record.
The shorthand
- Asset Script = "code runs here, on this device"
- Worksheet Script = "human walks this checklist, on this ticket"
If you keep that distinction clean, the toolbox becomes a lot more useful.
What workflow have you spent too long trying to fit into the wrong one?