Policy Catalog Overview and Usage

Overview

The Policy Catalog is a page in the Automox console that provides a curated list of policy templates maintained by Automox®. These templates capture best-practice configurations so you don’t have to build every policy from scratch.

Use the Policy Catalog to quickly find recommended starting points, preview configurations, and create new policies tailored to your environment.


Key Concepts

  • Policies – Active, saved configurations that run in your environment.
  • Policy templates – Read-only, best-practice starting points maintained by Automox. You can view them in the Policy Catalog and convert them into editable policies.
     

With the Policy Catalog, you can:

  • Quickly find a recommended template instead of building a policy from scratch.
  • Filter and search templates by OS, type, or category.
  • Preview templates in read-only mode before using them.
  • Click Create Policy to copy a template into a new, editable policy.

Where to Find the Policy Catalog

  1. Sign in to the Automox console.
  2. Click Policies in the main navigation.
  3. At the top of the Policies page, select the Policy Catalog tab.
     

You’ll see two tabs:

  • Policies – Your active policies.
  • Policy Catalog – The catalog of Automox-maintained templates.
     

The Policy Catalog page includes:

  • A table of policy templates
  • A search bar above the table
  • Filter controls (for example: OS, Policy Type, Category)
  • A Create Policy button for each template
  • An optional column selector to show or hide table columns

     

Browsing Policy Templates

When you open the Policy Catalog tab, you’ll see a table of templates maintained by Automox.

Typical columns include:

  • Name – Template name (for example, Windows Patch Best Practice – Servers)
  • OS – Target operating system(s)
  • Type – Policy type (for example, Patch Only, Advanced)
  • Category – For example, Third Party Software or OS Software
  • Last Updated – When Automox last updated the template
  • Notes – Short description of what the template does
     

To browse templates

  1. Go to Policies → Policy Catalog.
  2. Scroll through the table to review available templates.
  3. (Optional) Use the column selector to show or hide columns based on what matters most to you.

     

Filtering the Policy Catalog

Filters help you quickly narrow down templates based on your environment or use case.

Available filters may include:

  • OS
  • Type
  • Category
     

To filter templates

  1. Open Policies → Policy Catalog.
  2. Use the filter controls.
  3. Select one or more values, such as:
    • OS (Windows, macOS, Linux)
    • Type (Patch Only, Advanced)
    • Category (Third Party Software, OS Software)

The table updates automatically to display only matching templates.

 

To clear filters

  • Deselect individual filter options.
     

Searching the Policy Catalog

Use the search bar above the templates table to locate specific templates.

You can search by:

  • Template name
  • Operating system
  • Severity (if available)
  • Keywords in descriptions or tags
     

Search behavior

  • Search is case-insensitive.
  • Results are returned if any word in your search phrase matches.
  • Fuzzy matching applies to short descriptors such as name, OS, or severity.
  • Exact matching applies to long descriptions, tags, or dates.
  • Results are prioritized based on:
    • The number of words in your search phrase that match
    • The total number of matches within each template
       

To search for a template

  1. Open Policies → Policy Catalog.
  2. Click the search bar above the table.
  3. Enter your search phrase.
  4. Press Enter or wait for results to update.
  5. Review the filtered results.

     

Viewing a Template (Read-Only)

Each template can be opened in a read-only view so you can inspect its configuration before creating a policy.

To view a template

  1. Go to Policies → Policy Catalog.
  2. Locate the template.
  3. Click either:
    • The template name, or
    • View Details.

The template opens in a read-only page. Review the configuration and confirm it aligns with your needs.

From this page, you can click Create Policy to generate a new editable policy using the template’s settings.


Creating a Policy from a Template

When you create a policy from a template, Automox copies the template values into a new draft policy that you can edit before saving.

Once saved, the new policy behaves like any other policy in your environment.

 

Create a Policy from the Table View

  1. Go to Policies → Policy Catalog.
  2. Locate the template using filters or search.
  3. Click Create Policy in the template row.
     

You are redirected to the standard Create Policy form, pre-populated with:

  • Template name (editable)
  • OS and policy type
  • Default schedule (if defined)
  • Recommended options and settings
  1. Review and update fields as needed:
    • Rename the policy for your environment.
    • Confirm or modify device targeting.
    • Associate groups.
    • Adjust scheduling.
    • Update any environment-specific settings.
  2. Click Save.

After saving, the new policy appears under the Policies tab.

 

Create a Policy from the Read-Only View

  1. Open a template from Policies → Policy Catalog.
  2. Review the template details.
  3. Click Create Policy.
  4. Adjust settings as needed.
  5. Click Save.

     

Best Practice

Use templates as a strong baseline, but always verify:

  • Scheduling
  • Device scoping
  • Group assignments

This helps prevent applying settings too broadly during initial rollout.


Managing Policies Created from Templates

After you create policies from the catalog:

  • They appear on the Policies page.
  • They function like any other policy.
     

You can:

  • Edit them
  • Disable them
  • Clone them (for example, to create dev/test/prod variations)
  • Remove them
     

The Policy Catalog is used only for browsing templates. Ongoing policy management occurs on the Policies page.


Summary

The Policy Catalog helps you:

  • Discover Automox-maintained, best-practice policy templates.
  • Quickly narrow options with filters and search.
  • Inspect templates safely in read-only mode.
  • Create new policies with a single click and customize them for your environment.

Use the Policy Catalog to accelerate policy creation while maintaining flexibility and control.

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