Uptime Reboot Policy with NinjaOne and PowerShell

Long-running uptime can be useful, but it also increases risk: pending updates remain pending, patch windows get missed, and users eventually get hit with inconvenient restarts.

This script gives you a practical middle ground:

• Detect when uptime exceeds a threshold
• Notify the logged-in user with a Windows toast
• Optionally let the user schedule an earlier reboot
• Enforce a reboot deadline with a Scheduled Task
• Write policy state and user action back to NinjaOne custom fields

Creating Fields

Creating custom fields in NinjaOne

To create a custom field in NinjaOne go to Administration > Devices and select either Role Custom Fields or Global Custom Fields then select Add.

• Role Custom Fields are custom fields that are specific to a device role.
• Global Custom Fields are custom fields that are applicable to all devices and/or to a location and/or organisation

Make sure you add the fields to the roles you want to use them in at Administration > Devices > Roles (for role custom fields).

When you create your custom field you need to make sure that you set the Scripts permission to ensure that you can read or write to the field from your scripts - as appropriate for the script you're using.

This script can run without custom fields, but adding them gives you much better visibility for reporting and follow-up.

Field Label	Field Name	Field Type	Description
Last Uptime Reboot Prompt	lastUptimeRebootPrompt	Date/Time	When the user was last prompted.
Last Uptime Prompt Action	lastUptimePromptUserAction	Dropdown	Last recorded user action (Rebooted, Scheduled Reboot, Ignored).
Last Uptime Reboot Deadline	lastUptimeRebootDeadline	Date/Time	Current enforced reboot deadline from the script.
Uptime Reboot Policy State	uptimeRebootPolicyState	Dropdown	Current policy state (Below Threshold, Threshold Exceeded, Prompt Shown, Deadline Scheduled, Cleanup Completed).

The Script

UptimeRebootPolicy.ps1

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View on GitHub

Script Variables

The script has sensible defaults, but these are the key variables to expose in NinjaOne for full control.

Ninja Variable Name	Type	Default	What it does
thresholdDays	Integer	7	Uptime threshold before action starts.
toastTitle	String	Restart Recommended	Toast title shown to the user.
toastMessagePrefix	String	This device has been online for longer than the recommended uptime window.	Prefix used in the toast body.
rebootDeadlineHours	Integer	24	Maximum hours before forced reboot.
enforceRebootDeadline	Checkbox	true	Enables scheduled task enforcement.
allowInteractiveScheduling	Checkbox	true	Allows end-user to choose an earlier reboot.
useRunAsUserForUserExperience	Checkbox	true	Uses RunAsUser when script runs as SYSTEM.
bypassDoNotDisturb	Checkbox	true	Uses an alarm-style toast scenario to surface notifications.
interactivePromptTimeoutSeconds	Integer	120	Auto-close timeout for the interactive prompt UI.
brandName	String	IT Support	Branding header in the prompt UI.
brandSupportText	String	Need help? Contact your IT Service Desk.	Support message in the prompt UI.
brandSupportLabels	String CSV	Portal,Email,Phone	Labels for support options.
brandSupportLinks	String CSV	,,	Matching links/targets for support options.
brandAccentHex	String	0063B1	Accent color used in UI.
rebootTaskName	String	Uptime-Reboot-Deadline	Scheduled task name used for enforcement.
runMode	Dropdown	Auto	Auto for normal behavior, CleanupOnly to remove task and exit.
cleanupWhenBelowThreshold	Checkbox	true	Removes reboot task when uptime is below threshold.
logEffectiveConfiguration	Checkbox	true	Logs resolved settings to output.
dryRun	Checkbox	false	Simulates actions without changing anything.

How It Works

1. Reads last boot time from Win32_OperatingSystem and calculates uptime.
2. If uptime is below threshold, it writes Below Threshold and optionally removes any existing reboot task.
3. If uptime is above threshold, it writes Threshold Exceeded, schedules an enforced reboot deadline, and attempts user interaction.
4. If interactive UX is available, the user can:
   • reboot in about 2 minutes
   • schedule an earlier reboot in X hours
   • keep the default deadline
5. Displays a toast showing uptime and reboot deadline details.
6. Writes action/policy fields back to NinjaOne for reporting and monitor logic.

Recommended Deployment Pattern

A reliable deployment pattern is:

• Schedule this script daily on Windows devices
• Start with the default threshold/deadline (7 days / 24 hours)
• Create a monitor or dashboard using uptimeRebootPolicyState
• Tune threshold by device role (for example, stricter on user endpoints)

For staged rollout, run with dryRun=true first so you can validate logs and field updates without actually creating or removing tasks.

Cleanup Mode

If you need to roll back or clear existing deadline tasks, set:

• runMode = CleanupOnly

That mode removes the reboot deadline task and exits cleanly.

Notes

note

The script can attempt to install the RunAsUser module when needed for user-context prompts/toasts. In tightly locked-down environments, test this behavior with dryRun=true first and pre-stage dependencies if required.

tip

If your support links are configured, the interactive prompt can expose quick contact options (portal/email/phone) directly from the reboot scheduling UI.