VLC Media Player Silent Install (How-To Guide)

VLC Media Player is a free and open-source, portable, cross-platform media player software and streaming media server that plays most multimedia files, and various streaming protocols. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of VLC Media Player from the command line using both EXE & MSI installers.

How to Install VLC Media Player Silently

VLC Media Player (32-bit) Silent Install (EXE)

Navigate to: https://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/
Select the Version Number that you wish to install
Select Win32
Download the vlc-x.y.z-win32.exe file 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: vlc-x.y.z-win32.exe /S
Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the VLC Media Player Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:	VLC Media Player (32bit)
Vendor:	VideoLAN
Architecture:	32-bit
Installer Type:	EXE
Silent Install Switch:	`vlc-x.y.z-win32.exe /S`
Silent Uninstall Switch (32-bit System)	`"%ProgramFiles%\VideoLAN\VLC\uninstall.exe" /S`
Silent Uninstall Switch (64-bit System)	`"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\VideoLAN\VLC\uninstall.exe" /S`
Download Link:	VLC Media Player Download
Video Tutorial:	VLC Media Player Silent Install (How-To Guide) Video
PowerShell Script:	VLC Media Player \| PowerShell Script
Detection Script:	VLC Media Player \| Custom Detection Script

VLC Media Player (64-bit) Silent Install (EXE)

Navigate to: https://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/
Select the Version Number that you wish to install
Select Win64
Download the vlc-x.y.z-win64.exe file 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: vlc-x.y.z-win64.exe /S
Press Enter

Software Title:	VLC Media Player (64bit)
Vendor:	VideoLAN
Architecture:	64-bit
Installer Type:	EXE
Silent Install Switch:	`vlc-x.y.z-win64.exe /S`
Silent Uninstall Switch:	`"%ProgramFiles%\VideoLAN\VLC\uninstall.exe" /S`
Download Link:	VLC Media Player Download
Video Tutorial:	VLC Media Player Silent Install (How-To Guide) Video
PowerShell Script:	VLC Media Player \| PowerShell Script
Detection Script:	VLC Media Player \| Custom Detection Script

VLC Media Player (32-bit) Silent Install (MSI)

Navigate to: https://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/
Select the Version Number that you wish to install
Select Win32
Download the vlc-x.y.z-win32.msi file 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:
- MsiExec.exe /i vlc-x.y.z-win32.msi /qn
Press Enter

Software Title:	VLC Media Player (32-bit)
Vendor:	VideoLAN
Architecture:	32-bit
Installer Type:	MSI
Silent Install Switch:	`MsiExec.exe /i vlc-x.y.z-win32.msi /qn`
Silent Uninstall Switch:	`MsiExec.exe /x vlc-x.y.z-win32.msi /qn`
Repair Command:	`MsiExec.exe /fa vlc-x.y.z-win32.msi /qn`
Download Link:	VLC Media Player Download
Video Tutorial:	VLC Media Player Silent Install (How-To Guide) Video
PowerShell Script:	VLC Media Player \| PowerShell Script
Detection Script:	VLC Media Player \| Custom Detection Script

VLC Media Player (64-bit) Silent Install (MSI)

Navigate to: https://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/vlc/
Select the Version Number that you wish to install
Select Win64
Download the vlc-x.y.z-win64.msi file 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:
- MsiExec.exe /i vlc-x.y.z-win64.msi /qn
Press Enter

Software Title:	VLC Media Player (64-bit)
Vendor:	VideoLAN
Architecture:	64-bit
Installer Type:	MSI
Silent Install Switch:	`MsiExec.exe /i vlc-x.y.z-win64.msi /qn`
Silent Uninstall Switch:	`MsiExec.exe /x vlc-x.y.z-win64.msi /qn`
Repair Command:	`MsiExec.exe /fa vlc-x.y.z-win64.msi /qn`
Download Link:	VLC Media Player Download
Video Tutorial:	VLC Media Player Silent Install (How-To Guide) Video
PowerShell Script:	VLC Media Player \| PowerShell Script
Detection Script:	VLC Media Player \| 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

Create a VLC Media Player Installation Log File

The VLC Media Player MSI 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.

VLC Media Player (32-bit) Silent Install with Logging (MSI)

MsiExec.exe /i vlc-x.y.z-win32.msi /qn /L*v "%WINDIR%\Temp\VLC32-Install.log"

VLC Media Player (64-bit) Silent Install with Logging (MSI)

MsiExec.exe /i vlc-x.y.z-win64.msi /qn /L*v "%WINDIR%\Temp\VLC64-Install.log"

Disable VLC Media Player Auto Update Checks & Metadata Network Access

Install VLC Media Player and open the application
UNCHECK “Allow Metadata Network Access”
UNCHECK “Regularly Check for VLC Updates”
Click Continue
Navigate to the Tools tab and Select Preferences…
Under the Privacy / Network Interaction section confirm that the “Activate Updates Notifier” and “Allow Metadata Network Access” checkboxes are UNCHECKED
Click Save and Exit out of the VLC Media Player application
Navigate to the current user profile “C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Roaming\vlc”
Copy the vlcrc file to the C:\Downloads directory with the VLC executable or MSI you downloaded earlier
Uninstall VLC Media Player and delete the “C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Roaming\vlc” directory
Follow the “How to Install VLC Media Player Silently” steps mentioned earlier in the article
Create the following directory (If Not Already Present) “C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\vlc” and then copy the vlcrc file to the “C:\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\vlc“ directory
Any new user profiles will automatically get the vlcrc copied to their user profile here “C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Roaming\vlc”
Any existing user profiles will need to have the vlcrc file copied to their user profile in order to suppress the Privacy and Network Access Policy popup when launching VLC

Once you confirm that the vlcrc file is present in the “C:\Users\%Username%\AppData\Roaming\vlc” directory, you can launch VLC Media Player and confirm that the Privacy and Network Access Policy popup is suppressed and the “Activate Updates Notifier” and “Allow Metadata Network Access” checkboxes are UNCHECKED under Tools-> Preferences-> Privacy / Network Interaction section

How to Uninstall VLC Media Player Silently

Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:

VLC Media Player Install and Uninstall (PowerShell)

VLC Media Player Silent Uninstall (PowerShell)

Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
Enter one of the following commands:

VLC Media Player (32-bit) EXE Silent Uninstall on 32-bit System

"%ProgramFiles%\VideoLAN\VLC\uninstall.exe" /S

VLC Media Player (32-bit) EXE Silent Uninstall on 64-bit System

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\VideoLAN\VLC\uninstall.exe" /S

VLC Media Player (64-bit) EXE Silent Uninstall on 64-bit System