KiCad is a free software suite for electronic design automation. It facilitates the design of schematics for electronic circuits and their conversion to PCB designs. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of KiCad from the command line using the EXE installer.
How to Install KiCad Silently
KiCad 64-bit Silent Install (EXE)
- Navigate to: https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable
- Download the kicad-x.y.z-x86_64.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
- Enter the following command: kicad-x.y.z-x86_64.exe /allusers /S
- Press Enter
After a few moments you should see the KiCad Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
| Software Title: | KiCad |
| Vendor: | KiCad |
| Architecture: | x64 |
| Installer Type: | EXE |
| Silent Install Switch: | kicad-x.y.z-x86_64.exe /allusers /S |
| Silent Uninstall Switch: | "%ProgramFiles%\KiCad\x.y\uninstaller.exe" /allusers /S |
| Download Link: | KiCad Download |
| PowerShell Script: | KiCad | PowerShell Script |
| Detection Script: | KiCad | Custom Detection Script |
KiCad 32-bit Silent Install (EXE)
- Navigate to: https://downloads.kicad.org/kicad/windows/explore/stable
- Download the kicad-x.y.z-i686.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
- Enter the following command: kicad-x.y.z-i686.exe /S
- Press Enter
After a few moments you should see the KiCad Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.
| Software Title: | KiCad |
| Vendor: | KiCad |
| Architecture: | x86 |
| Installer Type: | EXE |
| Silent Install Switch: | kicad-x.y.z-i686.exe /S |
| Silent Uninstall Switch (32-bit System) | "%ProgramFiles%\KiCad\x.y\uninstaller.exe" /S |
| Silent Uninstall Switch (64-bit System) | "%ProgramFiles(x86)%\KiCad\x.y\uninstaller.exe" /S |
| Download Link: | KiCad Download |
| PowerShell Script: | KiCad | PowerShell Script |
| Detection Script: | KiCad | Custom Detection Script |
The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.
Additional Configurations
Change the KiCad Default Installation Directory
You can change the default installation directory by using the following command line parameters. In this example, I’m installing KiCad to “C:\KiCad”
kicad-x.y.z-x86_64.exe /allusers /S /D=C:\KiCad |
KiCad User Silent Install (Just for Me)
kicad-x.y.z-x86_64.exe /currentuser /S |
How to Uninstall KiCad Silently
Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:
- Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
- Enter one of the following commands:
KiCad 64-bit Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 64-bit System – Program Files
"%ProgramFiles%\KiCad\x.y\uninstaller.exe" /allusers /S |
KiCad 64-bit Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 64-bit System – User Profile
"%LocalAppData%\Programs\KiCad\x.y\uninstall.exe" /currentuser /S |
KiCad 32-bit Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 32-bit System
"%ProgramFiles%\KiCad\x.y\uninstaller.exe" /S |
KiCad 32-bit Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 64-bit System
"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\KiCad\x.y\uninstaller.exe" /S |
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.