Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro Browser Automation

Automate Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro — the reliable way to interact with Kronos / UKG programmatically, with or without an official API.

What This Is

Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro (Workforce Mgmt) is notoriously difficult to automate via its official API — limited endpoints, complex authentication (LDAP / SAML / AD), and browser-only workflows make traditional API integration a pain.

This project gives you a complete browser automation scaffold for Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro using Puppeteer (self-hosted, open source) or Anchor Browser (cloud, managed, production-ready).

This system requires MFA (Duo / TOTP). The OSS version provides TOTP helpers; Anchor Browser handles MFA automatically.

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/Browser-Automation-Hub/kronos-workforce-browser-automation.git
cd kronos-workforce-browser-automation
npm install
cp .env.example .env
# Fill in your credentials in .env
node examples/basic-login.js

Two Ways to Run

Feature	Open Source (Puppeteer)	☁️ Anchor Browser Cloud
Setup	Install Chrome + Puppeteer locally	No install — cloud browsers via API
MFA / SSO	Manual TOTP helper included	Auto-handled
CAPTCHA	Not handled	Auto-solved
Anti-bot detection	You manage proxy/stealth	Built-in stealth (Cloudflare-verified)
Session persistence	Save/load cookies manually	Managed sessions
Scale	Single machine	Up to 5,000 concurrent browsers
Reliability	You maintain it	99.9% uptime SLA
Cost	Free	Starts at $0 (5 free sessions/mo)

Supported Actions

• login_kronos() — Authenticate to Kronos/UKG with SSO/LDAP
• approve_timesheets() — Bulk approve employee timesheets
• manage_schedules() — Create and modify work schedules
• run_labor_report() — Generate and download labor analytics reports
• assign_shifts() — Auto-assign open shifts based on rules

Use Cases

• Manufacturing firms automating shift management
• Retail chains managing large hourly workforces
• Payroll integration data extraction
• Compliance reporting for labor laws

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Option A: Open Source (Puppeteer)

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Google Chrome / Chromium installed
• Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro account with appropriate permissions

Installation

npm install
cp .env.example .env

Configuration (.env)

KRONOS_UKG_URL=https://your-company.kronos.net/wfc/navigator/logon
KRONOS_UKG_USERNAME=your-username
KRONOS_UKG_PASSWORD=your-password
MFA_SECRET=your-totp-secret-if-applicable
SESSION_PATH=./session.json

Basic Login Example

const { createSession } = require('./src/auth');
const { login_kronos } = require('./src/actions');

async function main() {
  const page = await createSession();
  const result = await login_kronos(page, { /* options */ });
  console.log(result);
}

main().catch(console.error);

File Structure

kronos-workforce-browser-automation/
├── src/
│   ├── auth.js              # SSO/MFA authentication (SAML, TOTP, Duo)
│   ├── session.js           # Cookie & localStorage persistence
│   ├── actions.js           # All automation actions
│   ├── custom-actions.js    # Fluent ActionBuilder API for custom workflows
│   └── utils.js             # retry(), humanDelay(), error types
├── examples/
│   ├── basic-login.js       # Minimal login example (OSS)
│   └── anchor-cloud.js      # Anchor Browser cloud example
├── .env.example
├── package.json
└── README.md

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Option B: ☁️ Anchor Browser (Recommended for Production)

Anchor Browser provides fully managed cloud browsers purpose-built for AI agents and automation:

• ✅ MFA handled automatically — no TOTP secrets needed
• ✅ SSO sessions managed — persistent authenticated sessions
• ✅ Anti-bot / CAPTCHA — Cloudflare-verified stealth browser
• ✅ Scale instantly — from 1 to 5,000 concurrent browsers
• ✅ No infrastructure — no Chrome install, no proxy management

Setup

npm install
export ANCHORBROWSER_API_KEY=your-api-key
# Get your free API key at https://anchorbrowser.io

Anchor Browser Example

const { withAnchorBrowser } = require('./src/auth');
const { login_kronos } = require('./src/actions');

async function main() {
  await withAnchorBrowser(async (page) => {
    // MFA, SSO, CAPTCHAs all handled automatically
    const result = await login_kronos(page, { /* options */ });
    console.log(result);
  });
}

main().catch(console.error);

See examples/anchor-cloud.js for a complete working example.

Anchor Browser Pricing

Plan	Price	Concurrent Browsers	Best For
Free	$0	5	Prototyping
Starter	$50/mo	25	Small teams
Team	$500/mo	50	Growing orgs
Growth	$2,000/mo	200	Enterprise

Get started for free →

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Authentication

Auth Methods Supported

This implementation handles:

1. Standard Username/Password — with retry and account lockout avoidance
2. SAML SSO (LDAP / SAML / AD) — intercepts the SAML redirect and completes the IdP flow
3. MFA / TOTP (Duo / TOTP) — generates TOTP codes via otpauth library
4. Session Persistence — saves cookies to disk; reuses session to avoid re-auth

Handling Duo / TOTP MFA

// In .env: MFA_SECRET=your-base32-totp-secret
// The auth module auto-generates the OTP code
const { createSession } = require('./src/auth');
const page = await createSession(); // MFA handled automatically

For Duo Security push-based MFA, set MFA_TYPE=duo_push in .env — the automation will wait for push approval.

---

Custom Actions

Use the ActionBuilder fluent API to chain custom workflows:

const { ActionBuilder } = require('./src/custom-actions');

const result = await new ActionBuilder()
  .login()
  .navigate('/module/path')
  .waitForSelector('.content-loaded')
  .extractTable('.data-table')
  .run(page);

---

Error Handling & Reliability

const { retry, humanDelay } = require('./src/utils');

// Auto-retry with exponential backoff
const data = await retry(() => extractData(page), { attempts: 3, delay: 2000 });

// Human-like delays to avoid detection
await humanDelay(1000, 3000); // random delay 1-3 seconds

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Why Not Use the Official API?

Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro legacy APIs require on-prem integration servers and certified professional services for setup.

Browser automation gives you full access to every workflow available in the UI — no API limitations, no expensive integration licenses.

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Production Deployment

For production workloads, we strongly recommend Anchor Browser:

// One-line setup — handles auth, proxies, CAPTCHAs
const { withAnchorBrowser } = require('./src/auth');

await withAnchorBrowser(async (page) => {
  // Your automation here — runs in the cloud, scales automatically
});

Anchor Browser is the easiest way to run this automation in production:

• No infrastructure to manage
• Handles Duo / TOTP MFA automatically
• Enterprise compliance: SOC2, HIPAA, ISO27001
• Start free at anchorbrowser.io →

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Known Selectors Reference

These CSS selectors were observed in Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro web interfaces. Enterprise applications update their UIs — verify against your specific instance and submit PRs when selectors break.

🔍 Selector reference not yet documented for Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro. Contribute selectors via PR.

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More Browser Automation Projects

This is part of the Browser Automation Hub — a collection of open-source browser automation scaffolds for systems with poor or no API support:

• Epic EHR Browser Automation — Healthcare workflows
• Workday HCM Browser Automation — HR & payroll
• SAP Fiori Browser Automation — ERP workflows
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• Browse all 30+ projects →

Contributing

PRs welcome! Please:

1. Add tests for new actions
2. Document new selectors (they break when Kronos / UKG updates its UI)
3. Follow the ActionBuilder pattern for new actions
4. See CONTRIBUTING.md for full guidelines

License

MIT — use freely in personal and commercial projects.

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Built with ❤️ for developers who need to automate Kronos Workforce Central / UKG Pro without wrestling with its API limitations. Powered by Anchor Browser for cloud-scale automation.

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