SwitchHunt
What’s the silent install switch? Drop a Windows installer below - we read it in your browser, the file never leaves your machine - identify the engine, and hand you the full command set: install, repair, uninstall, extract, plus the modifier flags. Works on ~85% of installers - MSI, WiX Burn, Advanced Installer, Inno, NSIS, InstallShield, InstallAware, BitRock, MSIX/AppX, Squirrel, Wise and self-extractors - and a curated catalog for the painful vendor one-offs (Citrix, Teams, AnyDesk…). The packed/custom long tail gets a best-effort switch harvest.
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No changes needed. These commands are identical in both shells -
msiexec and friends are on the PATH, so they take no .\ prefix
(.\msiexec would not resolve). The rewrite only applies to an executable in
the current folder, or a quoted path.
PowerShell: current-folder executables get .\ and quoted paths get the
& call operator (applied above). If an argument itself contains quotes
(e.g. InstallShield /v"/qn") or a path with spaces, add --% right
after the program name so PowerShell passes the rest verbatim.
Test the install command in a throwaway VM before you package or deploy it. These switches are detected/curated best-effort - a wrong one silently ships a broken package to every machine.
Build a .intunewin Recommended
Your installer + the silent command in one Intune-ready package - nothing else to install. No PSADT, no framework, no PowerShell-version gotchas. Built in your browser; the file never leaves your machine.
PSADT v4 wrapper (.ps1) - only if your shop standardizes on PSADT
What it detects
Built for the enterprise long tail - Advanced Installer, Citrix and the vendor one-offs whose silent switches you’d otherwise reverse-engineer in Orca or dig out of a forum thread. Drop any of them and you get the exact command (install, repair, uninstall, plus modifier flags). Deterministic engines are rock-solid; the rest come with caveats.
| Engine | Silent install | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Installer (MSI) | msiexec /i app.msi /qn /norestart | High |
| WiX Burn bundle | setup.exe /install /quiet /norestart | High |
| Advanced Installer | setup.exe /exenoui /qn | High |
| Inno Setup | setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES | High |
| MSIX / AppX | Add-AppxPackage -Path app.msix | High |
| NSIS | setup.exe /S | Medium |
| InstallShield | setup.exe /s /v"/qn" | Medium |
| InstallAware | setup.exe /s | Medium |
| BitRock InstallBuilder | setup.exe --mode unattended | Medium |
| Squirrel | Setup.exe --silent | Medium |
| 7-Zip / WinRAR SFX | unwrap → inner installer | Medium |
| Wise (legacy) | setup.exe /s (case-finicky) | Low |
| Vendor one-offs (Citrix, Teams, AnyDesk…) | known silent string from the catalog | Curated |
| Custom / packed EXE | best-effort switch harvest | - |
MSI packages also get a deep read - the full property table, a tiered “properties you likely need” list, and an uninstall-replay warning. When an installer seals its switches inside a compressed payload (Citrix, custom .NET, big vendor bundles), a hand-curated catalog of known silent strings fills the gap - and the truly custom EXEs we just can't crack, we say so rather than guess. That's where you come in: I built this because I was sick of reverse-engineering installers in Orca, and I've thrown every weird, vendor-cursed package I own at it - you've probably got one nastier. Drop the installer that beats it (or the magic switches we miss) in an issue on the repo - the catalog only gets better with help, and I'm always happy to be proven wrong.
Runs entirely in your browser
The installer is parsed locally with JavaScript - no upload, no server, no storage, nothing to leak. You can pull your network cable and it still works. Open DevTools and watch: zero requests leave the page.
What it can and can’t do
It identifies the installer engine by signature and returns that engine’s documented command set - install, repair, uninstall, layout. It never runs the installer. Deterministic engines (MSI, WiX Burn, Advanced Installer, Inno, MSIX) are rock-solid; NSIS/InstallShield/ Squirrel/SFX come with caveats; truly custom EXEs it can’t crack - that’s what the community catalog is for: a public, hand-curated set of known silent strings (and, for well-known apps, their real uninstall + detection), going live at github.com/deadarcher/SwitchHunt.
Silent install switches by app
Hand-curated commands - one page per app, no file needed.
- Citrix Workspace
- Microsoft Teams (classic machine-wide)
- AnyDesk
- Docker Desktop
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor
- Python
- Visual Studio Code
- Git for Windows
- Zoom
- Oracle VM VirtualBox
- Wireshark
- TeamViewer (Host)
- GlobalProtect (Palo Alto VPN)
- Microsoft 365 Apps / Office
- Adobe Acrobat (Pro / Standard)
- Foxit PDF Editor
- Nitro PDF Pro
- TechSmith Snagit
- Webroot SecureAnywhere
- RustDesk
- ESET Endpoint Security
- Google Chrome (Enterprise)
- Mozilla Firefox
- 7-Zip
- Notepad++
- VLC media player
- WinRAR
- OBS Studio
- GIMP
- Node.js
- FileZilla
- PuTTY
- Audacity
- Postman
- Foxit PDF Reader
- Sumatra PDF
- Greenshot
- LibreOffice
Silent install switch finder - FAQ
What is a silent install switch?
A silent (or unattended) install switch is the command-line flag that makes a Windows installer run with no prompts or windows - for example /qn or /quiet for MSI, /S for NSIS, or /silent for Inno Setup. It's what lets you push software to a fleet without a human clicking Next.
How do I find an installer's silent install switch?
Drop the .exe or .msi onto SwitchHunt. It fingerprints the installer engine in your browser and shows the documented silent install, repair, and uninstall commands - no guessing, and no running the installer with /? to see what sticks.
What is a silent installer?
A silent installer is any Windows setup (MSI or EXE) run with its unattended switch so it installs with zero user interaction. SwitchHunt is the switch finder that tells you which switch each installer takes.
Does the switch finder work on any Windows installer?
It reliably detects MSI, WiX Burn, Advanced Installer, Inno Setup, NSIS, InstallShield, MSIX/AppX, Squirrel and self-extractors - about 85% of installers - plus a curated catalog for the painful vendor one-offs (Citrix, Teams, AnyDesk). Truly custom EXEs get a best-effort switch harvest.