WinSCP Silent Install (How-To Guide)

WinSCP (Windows Secure Copy) is a free and open-source SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, Amazon S3 and SCP client. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of WinSCP from the command line using both the EXE & MSI installers.

How to Install WinSCP Silently

WinSCP Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://winscp.net/eng/download.php
  2. Download the WinSCP-x.y.z-Setup.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: WinSCP-x.y.z-Setup.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS
  6. Press Enter

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

Software Title:WinSCP
Vendor:Martin Prikryl
Architecture:x86
Installer Type: EXEInno Setup
Silent Install Switch:WinSCP-x.y.z-Setup.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS
Silent Uninstall Switch (32-bit System)"%ProgramFiles%\WinSCP\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Silent Uninstall Switch (64-bit System)"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\WinSCP\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART
Download Link:WinSCP EXE Download
PowerShell Script:WinSCP | PowerShell Script
Detection Script:WinSCP | Custom Detection Script

WinSCP Silent Install (MSI)

  1. Navigate to: https://sourceforge.net/projects/winscp/files/WinSCP/
  2. Select the version of your choice
  3. Download the WinSCP-x.y.z.msi to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  4. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  5. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  6. Enter the following command: MsiExec.exe /i WinSCP-x.y.z.msi /qn
  7. Press Enter

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

Software Title:WinSCP
Vendor:Martin Prikryl
Architecture:x86
Installer Type:MSI
Silent Install Switch:MsiExec.exe /i WinSCP-x.y.z.msi /qn
Silent Uninstall Switch:MsiExec.exe /x WinSCP-x.y.z.msi /qn
Repair Command:MsiExec.exe /fa WinSCP-x.y.z.msi /qn
Download Link:WinSCP MSI Download
PowerShell Script:WinSCP | PowerShell Script
Detection Script:WinSCP | Custom Detection Script

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 a WinSCP Installation Log File

The WinSCP installers offer 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.

WinSCP Silent Install (EXE) with Logging

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

WinSCP Silent Install (MSI) with Logging

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

Exclude the WinSCP Desktop Shortcut During Install

The WinSCP installer includes a desktop shortcut by default. If you don’t want the desktop shortcut included during installation, then you can run the following command line switch.

WinSCP Silent Install (EXE) with No Desktop Shortcut

WinSCP-x.y.z-Setup.exe /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS /MERGETASKS=!desktopicon

WinSCP Silent Install (MSI) with No Desktop Shortcut

MsiExec.exe /i WinSCP-x.y.z.msi DESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 /qn

Change the WinSCP Default Installation Directory

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

WinSCP-x.y.z-Setup.exe /DIR="C:\WinSCP" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART /ALLUSERS
MsiExec.exe /i WinSCP-x.y.z.msi INSTALLDIR="C:\WinSCP" /qn

Disable WinSCP Check For Updates

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Configuration\Interface\Updates" /v "Period" /t REG_DWORD /d "00000000" /f
REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Configuration\Interface\Updates" /v "ShowOnStartup" /t REG_DWORD /d "00000000" /f

Disable WinSCP Check For Beta Versions

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Configuration\Interface\Updates" /v "BetaVersions" /t REG_DWORD /d "00000001" /f

Disable WinSCP Collection of Anonymous Usage Statistics

REG ADD "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2\Configuration\Interface" /v "CollectUsage" /t REG_DWORD /d "00000000" /f

How to Uninstall WinSCP Silently

Check out the following posts for a scripted solution:

WinSCP Install and Uninstall (PowerShell)
WinSCP 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:

WinSCP Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 32-bit System

"%ProgramFiles%\WinSCP\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

WinSCP Silent Uninstall (EXE) on 64-bit System

"%ProgramFiles(x86)%\WinSCP\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /NORESTART

WinSCP Silent Uninstall (MSI)

VersionWinSCP Silent Uninstall String
6.1.1MsiExec.exe /x {938B8A73-A0D0-48AD-9893-BEE2E7DF97AD} /qn
6.1MsiExec.exe /x {927BF7DF-B4FE-47E6-B273-37AEAB6826CF} /qn
6.0.2MsiExec.exe /x {C839E1C7-6E19-4A44-BE72-710905F92518} /qn

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.

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