Installation
Run the ThinkAutomation.exe setup to install. Once installed, use the ThinkAutomation Studio to complete the setup. You will be asked to register the product, to provide a password for the ThinkAutomation Administrator user and to create the Message Store database.
System Requirements
ThinkAutomation requires Windows 10/11 (64bit) or Windows Server 2025, 2022, 2019 or 2016 (build 1709 or higher) with 1GB of free disk space and 2GB minimum ram (8GB or higher is recommended). It can run on on-premises or on a cloud hosted virtual machine.
ThinkAutomation requires .NET Framework 4.8. This is installed by default on Windows 10/11 & Windows Server 2019/2022/2025.
Architecture
ThinkAutomation installs three Windows services along with the ThinkAutomation Studio.
| Service | Details |
|---|---|
| ThinkAutomationServer | Maintains the message queue, message store database & metadata and serves data to the other services and Studio users. |
| ThinkAutomationMessageReader | Reads messages from the Message Sources and sends new messages to the server queue. |
| ThinkAutomationMessageProcessor | Executes Automations for each message received from the server queue. |
Each ThinkAutomation Service can run on the same computer, or separate computers in a distributed configuration (Professional Edition). All communication between the services are secure.
Message Store
ThinkAutomation stores each processed message in the Message Store database. The Message Store contains a copy of each message processed along with a log of Automation actions. You can view the Message Store using the ThinkAutomation Studio or via web browser interface. The Message Store will be created when ThinkAutomation is run for the first time.
You can use the built-in SQLite database for the Message Store, or an external Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL or MongoDB database.
The built-in SQLite database provides the simplest configuration and will work on any computer without any additional software. Using an external database may provide better performance.
Message Store Database Types
| Type | Details |
|---|---|
| SQL Server | Use Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or higher. Any edition (including Express) can be used. Note: SQL Server Express edition has a limit of 10GB per database. |
| MongoDB | Use a local or remote MongoDB instance. MongoDB will provide high performance but requires more memory. Should not be used on machines with 8GB or less ram when using a local instance. |
| MySQL | Use MySQL version 5.7 or higher (or Maria DB). |
| PostgreSQL | Use PostgreSQL version 8 or higher. |
| SQLite | Use the built-in SQLite database. Requires no additional components. |