Inno Setup Silent Install (How-To Guide)

Inno Setup is a free script-driven installation system created in Delphi by Jordan Russell. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of Inno Setup from the command line using the EXE installer.

How to Install Inno Setup Silently

Inno Setup Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://www.jrsoftware.org/download.php/is.exe?site=1
  2. Download the innosetup-x.y.z.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  3. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  4. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  5. Enter the following command: innosetup-x.y.z.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS
  6. Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the Inno Setup shortcut in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:Inno Setup
Vendor:jrsoftware.org
Architecture:x86
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:innosetup-x.y.z.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS
Silent Uninstall Switch (32-bit System)"%ProgramFiles%\Inno Setup 6\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Silent Uninstall Switch (64-bit System)"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Inno Setup 6\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Download Link:https://jrsoftware.org/isdl.php
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/inno-setup-install-and-uninstall-powershell/
Detection Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/create-a-custom-detection-script-for-inno-setup-powershell/

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download link provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.


Additional Configurations

Create an Inno Setup Installation Log File

The Inno Setup installer offers the option to generate a log file during installation to assist with troubleshooting should any problems arise. You can use the following commands to create a verbose log file with details about the installation.

Inno Setup Silent Install (EXE) with Logging

innosetup-x.y.z.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS /LOG="%WINDIR%\Temp\InnoSetup-Install.log"

Include the Inno Setup Desktop Shortcut During Install

The Inno Setup installer does not include a desktop shortcut by default. If you want the desktop shortcut included during installation, then you can run the following command line switch.

Inno Setup Silent Install (EXE) with Desktop Shortcut

innosetup-x.y.z.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS /MERGETASKS=desktopicon

Change the Inno Setup Default Installation Directory

You can also change the default installation directory by using the following command line parameters. In this example, I’m installing Inno Setup to “C:\Inno Setup”

innosetup-x.y.z.exe /DIR="C:\Inno Setup" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS

How to Uninstall Inno Setup Silently

Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:

Inno Setup Install and Uninstall (PowerShell)
Inno Setup Silent Uninstall (PowerShell)
  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter one of the following commands:

Inno Setup 6 Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 32-bit System

"%ProgramFiles%\Inno Setup 6\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

Inno Setup 6 Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 64-bit System

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Inno Setup 6\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.

Jason Bergner

I am an accomplished Software Engineer at Patch My PC, leveraging more than 18 years of hands-on experience in Configuration Manager administration and application packaging. I am driven by a genuine passion for solving complex problems and consistently strive to discover innovative and effective solutions. Sharing my extensive knowledge of application deployments is a true joy for me, and I am honored to contribute to the community here at Silent Install HQ.

Recent Posts