MSIEXEC(1)

📦
version 10.0 · 4 versions
, in debian trixie, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💿 MSIEXEC(1) — Wine Programs, bestie 💿

okay so welcome to the manual page for msiexec, living under section 1 of the Wine Programs manual. pull up a chair, grab a strawberry 🍓, we're doing installers today.

✨ NAME ✨

msiexec — the Wine MSI Installer. that's it, that's the name, she's iconic.

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

msiexec command {required parameter} [optional parameter]...

like, you give her a command, you give her the required parameter (curly braces = you MUST, no skipping 🙅), and then as many optional parameters as your little heart desires. the ... means "and more, go off".

🫶 DESCRIPTION 🫶

msiexec is the Wine MSI installer, and here's the slay: she's command line compatible with her Microsoft Windows counterpart. so everything you learned on Windows? it just works here. no cap. same commands, same vibe, different OS. 💅

🎀 INSTALL OPTIONS 🎀

  • /i {package|productcode} [property=foobar] — install that {package|productcode} for me, and if you want, tack on property=foobar while you're at it.
  • /a {package|productcode} [property=foobar] — install {package|productcode} in administrator (network) mode. boss energy. optional property=foobar still welcome.
  • /x {package|productcode} [property=foobar] — uninstall {package|productcode}, with property=foobar if you're feeling fancy. bye bye 👋
  • /uninstall {package|productcode} [property=foobar] — literally the same thing as /x. twins. same energy, different name.

💅 REPAIR OPTIONS 💅

  • /f [p|o|e|d|c|a|u|m|s|v] {package|productcode} — repair an installation. the default options are 'omus' if you don't specify any, so she's got your back by default. 🫂

and here's what each of those lil letters actually does:

  • p — reinstall the file if it's missing. gone girl? bring her back.
  • o — reinstall the file if it's missing or if any older version is installed.
  • e — reinstall the file if it's missing, or if the installed version is equal or older.
  • d — reinstall the file if it's missing or a different version is installed.
  • c — reinstall the file if it's missing or the checksum does not match. trust issues, valid.
  • a — reinstall all files. all of them. every single one. periodt.
  • u — rewrite all required user registry entries.
  • m — rewrite all required machine registry entries.
  • s — overwrite any conflicting shortcuts.
  • v — recache the local installation package from the source installation package. a lil refresh moment ✨

🦋 PATCHING 🦋

  • /p {patch} [property=foobar] — apply a patch. optional property=foobar included.
⚠️ okay important: this should not be used with any of the above options. like, none of them. keep your patching separate, bestie, don't mix.

🌈 UI CONTROL 🌈

  • /q[n|b|r|f] — these options let you change how the UI behaves while installing MSI packages. choose your own adventure:
  • /q — show no UI. stealth mode 🥷
  • /qn — same as /q. (yes, literally the same, they're besties)
  • /qb — show a basic UI.
  • /qr — shows a reduced user UI.
  • /qf — shows a full UI. maximalist era.

💜 LOGGING 💜

  • /l[*][i|w|e|a|r|u|c|m|o|p|v][+|!] {logfile} — enable logging to {logfile}. the defaults are 'iwearmo', cute lil acronym.

and the pieces:

  • * — enable all logging options except 'v' and 'x'. (not those two, we said what we said)
  • i — log status messages.
  • w — log nonfatal warnings.
  • e — log all error messages.
  • a — log start of actions.
  • r — log action specific records.
  • u — log user requests.
  • c — log initial UI parameters.
  • m — log out of memory errors.
  • o — log out of diskspace messages.
  • p — log terminal properties.
  • v — verbose logging. the yapper option 🗣️
  • x — log extra debugging messages.
  • + — append logging to an existing file (don't nuke the old log, just keep adding).
  • ! — flush each line to the log. immediate. no buffering drama.

⭐ OTHER OPTIONS ⭐

  • /h — show help. always there for you 🫶
  • /j[u|m] {package|productcode} [/t transform] [/g languageid] — advertise the package, optionally with /t transform and /g languageid.
  • /y — register the MSI service.
  • /z — unregister the MSI service.
  • /? — same as /h. another set of twins 👯

💀 BUGS 💀

bugs can be reported on the Wine bug tracker. found something cursed? tell the tracker, not me, I'm just the messenger. 😭

👑 AVAILABILITY 👑

msiexec is part of the Wine distribution, which is available through WineHQ, the Wine development headquarters. go get it, bestie.

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

  • wine(1)
  • Wine documentation and support.

okay and for the sign-off — this whole page is from Wine 10.0, dated November 2010. vintage but still serving. 💖✨ go forth and install things responsibly, ily, mwah 🎀🦋

📦 where this page comes from