Environment Setup

Proton runs automations on your company's machines or in the cloud. This section shows how to prepare a machine to receive runs: Proton Runner, the account it uses, and what each type of project needs installed.

Where automations run

Option	What it's for
Proton Runner	Windows and Linux app that connects the machine to Proton. This is the usual path. For desktop and SAP GUI automations, it runs in the Windows user's session.
Proton Runner CLI	The same runner as a command-line tool, for servers and machines without a graphical interface.
Cloud Runner	A cloud machine that Proton turns on on demand, billed by the hour until it is turned off. Contact Atomic to use it. See Cloud Runners.

The runner keeps a connection to Proton and receives the runs triggered in the portal, by scheduled runs, or through the API. For each run, it downloads the code from the project's git repository, prepares the dependencies, runs the automation, and sends the status, log, and evidence back to Proton.

Several runners can form a cluster, which splits runs among them. In the portal, runners are under Runners > Manage and clusters under Runners > Cluster.

Step by step

1. Account. Create the account the runner will use, preferably a robot account. See Runner account.
2. Runner. Install Proton Runner and connect it with that account.
3. Machine. Install what the project type needs:
   • Python projects: uv;
   • Java projects: the JDK and Maven;
   • Mobile (Android): adb, Appium, and the device;
   • SAP GUI: SAP GUI with scripting enabled;
   • Git and network: git and the addresses the machine needs to reach.
4. Check. Confirm that the runner shows up as free in the portal, under Runners > Manage, and trigger a test run.

What changed from Proton 4

• Proton Runner replaces Proton Client. The installer no longer installs Java, Maven, Python, or Node: each machine gets only what its projects use.
• The project doesn't store a token or the Proton address: the runner hands the automation a token that is valid only for that run. See run token.
• The Java Proton Cloud SDK comes from a public Maven repository, with no settings.xml or credentials on the machine.
• The code comes from the repository through the git integration registered in Proton: the machine needs no key or login for GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket.

The Proton 4 guide is still available in the Proton 4 documentation (in Portuguese).