Using Parameters in Apple iOS/macOS Profiles

Variables—also called parameters in FileWave—let one Apple profile use device, user, directory, or locally resolved values instead of fixed text. Put the variable in a supported text field with a percent sign at each end, such as %SerialNumber% or %custom_field.asset_tag%.

There are two different substitution stages. Knowing which system resolves a variable is essential when a profile contains certificate, VPN, Wi-Fi, or 802.1X settings.

How variables are resolved

Resolver	Source	When the value is inserted	Typical syntax
FileWave Server	FileWave inventory, Custom Fields, or the directory service configured in FileWave	When FileWave prepares the profile for a specific device	%serial_number%, %email%, %custom_field.asset_tag%
macOS	The Mac's local settings and Active Directory binding	On the Mac during SCEP or network-authentication profile processing	%ComputerName%, %AD_ComputerID%, %HardwareUUID%

Do not treat the two lists as interchangeable. FileWave-resolved variables can be used in supported profile text fields across managed Apple devices. Apple's local variables have a narrower macOS scope and are intended for SCEP and related VPN or 802.1X authentication values.

Apple device-resolved variables for SCEP and network authentication

On Mac computers, Apple provides variables that macOS resolves locally while processing SCEP certificate requests and related VPN or 802.1X authentication settings. FileWave delivers these tokens in the profile; the value does not need to exist in FileWave inventory.

Use these variables only in fields that support Apple's local substitution, such as an SCEP Subject or Subject Alternative Name, or the supported authentication-name fields of a VPN or 802.1X configuration. Support is determined by the Apple payload and operating system, not merely by whether a field accepts text.

Variable	Value supplied by macOS
%AD_ComputerID%	Active Directory computer account ID. This normally includes the trailing $ used by an AD computer account.
%AD_Domain%	Active Directory domain.
%AD_DomainForestName%	Active Directory forest name.
%AD_DomainGuid%	Active Directory domain GUID.
%AD_DomainNameDNS%	Active Directory DNS name.
%AD_KerberosID%	Active Directory Kerberos ID.
%ComputerName%	The Mac computer name shown in Sharing settings.
%HardwareUUID%	The Mac's hardware UUID.
%HostName%	The Mac's DNS hostname.
%LocalHostName%	The Mac's local network name.
%MACAddress%	The MAC address of the default Ethernet interface (en0).
%SerialNumber%	The Mac's serial number.

See Apple's Variables settings for device management payloads and SCEP device management payload settings for Apple's current scope and payload requirements.

Use the AD computer name without the trailing dollar sign

%AD_ComputerID% identifies the AD computer account and therefore normally resolves with a trailing $. Current macOS also exposes %AD_ComputerName%, which returns the AD computer name without that account suffix.

For example, a Mac named engineering-macbook may have the 15-character AD computer name engineering-mac. The following SCEP value:

%AD_ComputerName%.example.org

resolves to:

engineering-mac.example.org

Apple's public variable table does not currently list %AD_ComputerName%. macOS reports it through mdmclient dumpSCEPVars, but test it on an Active Directory-bound Mac running the oldest macOS version in the deployment before broad rollout. If FileWave's variable picker does not offer it, enter the complete token manually in the supported SCEP field.

%ComputerName%, %HostName%, and %LocalHostName% describe macOS names. They can differ from the AD computer name and do not reliably replace %AD_ComputerName% when the certificate authority expects the AD name.

Check the values available on a Mac

Run this read-only command locally on the Mac:

/usr/libexec/mdmclient dumpSCEPVars

The output lists the SCEP substitution variables that macOS recognizes and their current values. An AD variable is empty when the Mac is not bound to Active Directory or the corresponding binding value is unavailable.

Review before sharing: the command can display the device serial number, hardware UUID, MAC address, installed MDM profile name, and directory details. Redact those values before attaching output to a support case.

Deploy and verify

1. In FileWave's Apple Profile Editor, configure the SCEP payload required by the certificate authority.
2. Enter the variable in the required Subject or Subject Alternative Name value. Keep the variable spelling, capitalization, underscores, and surrounding percent signs exactly as shown.
3. Deploy to one representative Mac first. For an AD-derived variable, use a Mac that is already bound to Active Directory.
4. Verify the issued certificate in Keychain Access or at the certificate authority. Confirm the Common Name or Subject Alternative Name contains the expected resolved value rather than the literal token.
5. If the token remains literal, confirm that the selected Apple field and macOS version support local substitution. If it is empty or wrong, compare the result with mdmclient dumpSCEPVars on that Mac.

FileWave-resolved variables

The remaining sections describe variables FileWave resolves from inventory, directory records, and Custom Fields. You can create organization-specific values with Custom Fields populated by an administrator, client script, LDAP mapping, or CSV import.

LDAP Parameters

FileWave version 6.1 allows you to use Directory based parameters in your profile payloads.

%first_name% %last_name% %full_name% %short_name% %email% %job_title% %mobile_phone% %guid%

Setting up a directory server for use with Parameterized Profiles is easy. Navigate to the FileWave Preferences Screen and fill out the appropriate information for your OpenDirectory, Active Directory or E-Directory. For issues and troubleshooting related to your LDAP preferences, please refer to the LDAP section.

You must also be using LDAP authentication for iOS device enrollment. Instructions for that setup are in the Using LDAP to enroll macOS/iOS/Android devices.

For the above user strings to work you must be pointed to an Directory server and have it selected as authentication

You can also map custom fields to LDAP parameters to extend the above list.
See Custom Fields for more information.

Inventory / Device Parameters

Starting in FileWave 6.1+ you can reference specific information about the device as well, directly from FileWave Inventory. Those fields are:

%OSVersion% %SerialNumber% %ProductName% %BuildVersion% %WIFIMAC% %ICCID% %IMEI%

All Devices

Common Device Parameters	Type	FileWave Version Introduced
%archived%	datetime	13.0.0
%auth_username%	string	13.0.0
%cpu_count%	int	13.0.0
%cpu_type%	string	13.0.0
%current_ip_address%	string	13.0.0
%last_enterprise_app_validation_date%	datetime	13.0.0
%last_state_change_date%	datetime	13.0.0
%department%	string	13.0.0
%device_id%	string	13.0.0
%device_name%	string	13.0.0
%device_product_name%	string	13.0.0
%enroll_date%	datetime	13.0.0
%filewave_client_name%	string	13.0.0
%filewave_id%	string	13.0.0
%free_disk_space%	int	13.0.0
%is_system_integrity_protection_enabled%	bool	13.0.0
%is_tracking_enabled%	bool	13.0.0
%last_check_in%	datetime	13.0.0
%last_ldap_username%	string	13.0.0
%last_logged_in_username%	string	13.0.0
%location%	string	13.0.0
%management_mode%	int	13.0.0
%monitor_id%	string	13.0.0
%ram_size%	int	13.0.0
%serial_number%	string	13.0.0
%state%	int	13.0.0
%total_disk_space%	int	13.0.0
%unenrolled%	bool	13.0.0
%is_user_enrollment%	bool	13.2.0
%is_activation_lock_manageable%	bool	13.2.0
%remote_desktop_enabled%	bool	13.2.0
%external_boot_level%	bool	13.2.0

Desktop Specific (macOS & Windows)

Desktop Device Parameters	Type
%device_manufacturer%	string	13.0.0
%filewave_client_locked%	bool	13.0.0
%filewave_client_version%	string	13.0.0
%filewave_model_number%	int	13.0.0
%rom_bios_version%	string	13.0.0

iOS Specific

iOS Device Parameters	Type
%battery_level%	float (from 0 to 1)	13.0.0
%last_cloud_backup_date%	datetime	13.0.0
%last_wallpaper_change_date%	datetime	13.0.0
%apple_device_id%	string	13.0.0
%eas_device_identifier%	string	13.0.0
%is_activation_lock_enabled%	bool	13.0.0
%is_device_locator_service_enabled%	bool	13.0.0
%is_do_not_disturb_in_effect%	bool	13.0.0
%is_cloud_backup_enabled%	bool	13.0.0
%is_mdm_lost_mode_enabled%	bool	13.0.0
%is_supervised%	bool	13.0.0
%awaiting_configuration%	bool	13.0.0
%is_network_tethered%	bool	13.0.0
%itunes_store_account_is_active%	bool	13.0.0
%itunes_store_account_hash%	string	13.0.0
%languages%	string	13.0.0
%locales%	string	13.0.0
%maximum_resident_users%	int	13.0.0
%meid%	string	13.0.0
%model%	string	13.0.0
%organization_info%	string	13.0.0
%product%	string	13.0.0
%product_name%	string	13.0.0

You can also map custom fields to script results to extend the above list.
See Custom Fields for more information.

You can also look in the inventory query builder and it will tell you the internal name in the bottom left:

Using parameters in profiles

To add a FileWave-resolved variable to a profile, replace the fixed value with one from the lists above.

A change to an inventory or Custom Field value does not modify the profile definition. Reinstall the profile when devices need to receive the updated resolved value. See Profile Payload Planning for the deployment and removal considerations.

For instance, you might create an email profile with the account information. See the example here:

Appendix

Directory servers use their own values for common fields. Below is the mapping for each supported directory:

E-Directory

Profile Parameters	LDAP attribute name	Remarks
short_name	uid
first_name	givenName
last_name	sn
full_name	fullName
email	mail
job_title	title
mobile_phone	mobile
guid	GUID	A binary read-only attribute

Open Directory

Profile Parameters	LDAP attribute name
email	mail
first_name	givenName
full_name	fullName
guid	apple-generateduid
job_title	title
last_name	sn
mobile_phone	mobile
short_name	uid

Active Directory

Profile Parameters	LDAP attribute name
email	mail
first_name	givenName
full_name	fullName
guid	objectGUID
job_title	title
last_name	sn
mobile_phone	mobile
short_name	sAMAccountName

Related content

• Custom Fields
• Inventory Items in Profiles
• Profile Payload Planning
• Profile Editor details for Apple
• Apple Profile: ACME Certificate