AutoSys Windows job fails with "JIL command not recognized" after Agent upgrade

Products

• Autosys Workload Automation
• ESP dSeries Workload Automation - System Agent (dSeries)
• ESP dSeries Workload Automation - Scheduler (dSeries)
• Workload Automation Agent
• ESP dSeries Workload Automation

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading Workload Automation Agent to version 12.x (or higher) on Windows, command jobs that previously worked begin to fail with the following error in the job's standard error (stderr) or spool file:

Provided JIL command is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

Additional Observations:

• The same command runs successfully when executed manually from a command prompt on the same server.
• The agent log (e.g., transmitter.log or joblog) shows the command being executed with an extra set of double quotes, such as: "C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\cmd.exe" /c ""C:\####\####\script.bat 45""

Environment

• Product: AutoSys Workload Automation AE
• Component: Workload Automation Agent (System Agent)
• Version: 12.x and above
• OS: Windows Server

Cause

By default, AutoSys Agents in version 12.x and higher enable AutoSys Compatibility Mode. One of the parameters associated with this mode is oscomponent.cmdprefix.force.quotes.full.

When this parameter is set to true, the agent automatically wraps the entire command in double quotes before passing it to cmd.exe. If the job's JIL definition already encapsulates the command in double quotes (a common practice), the agent adds a second set. This results in nested quotes that cause cmd.exe to treat the entire string—including arguments—as a single, non-existent filename.

Resolution

To resolve this without modifying hundreds of existing JIL definitions, update the agent configuration to prevent the automatic addition of quotes.

1. Log in to the Windows server where the agent is installed.
2. Navigate to the agent installation directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\CA\WorkloadAutomationAE\SystemAgent\WA_AGENT).
3. Open the agentparm.txt file in a text editor with Administrator privileges.
4. Locate the following parameter: oscomponent.cmdprefix.force.quotes.full=true
5. Change the value to false: oscomponent.cmdprefix.force.quotes.full=false
6. Save the file.
7. Restart the Workload Automation Agent service.

Alternative Resolution: If you prefer to keep the parameter as true, you must remove the double quotes from the command: attribute in the JIL definition for every affected job. However, the configuration change above is the recommended approach for large-scale upgrades.

Additional Information

• Refer to the Workload Automation Agent documentation for details:
  • oscomponent.cmdprefix.force.quotes.full
    (Windows only) Specifies whether the agent wraps the entire command in double quotes before the Windows command interpreter (cmd.exe) runs the command. This parameter is applicable if oscomponent.cmdprefix.force is set to true.
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