Spark - Unattended Install (2014)

So, like many of you I, I want to do an unintended install of spark for my hundreds of users.

Well first I search the forums and find some useful guides like the one here:

Okay, it says I need the MSI… lets head over to the downloads section. Oops, no MSI to download. looks like theve been removed:

Crap! Okay maybe they added a /quiet switch to the exe…

Lets test:

spark_2_6_3.exe /quite ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe /q ----------- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe /silent ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe /unattended ----Nope!

Okay there has to be a help command:

spark_2_6_3.exe /? ---------- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe /help ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe /h ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe -? ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe -help ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe -h ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe --? ----- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe --help ---- Nope!

spark_2_6_3.exe -h ----- Nope!

Well Crap! Has anyone gotten spark to do a successfull Unattended Install?

i think only .msi files support the /silent switch, etc. MSI’s are smart, exe’s aren’t so much.

In any event, Spark builds to an exe. You will have to make your own msi to perform the install. You can do this by downloading the spark source code, compiling it, and then packaging it with your own packager that outputs a .msi, such as AdvancedInstaller Free Edition, etc.

There are many guides on google, and in this forum on how-to build your own custom branded spark. follow one of those guides that uses AdvancedInstaller and just ignore the branding aspects. This should help get you to a msi you can use.

Also, it might be possible to make your spark installation “portable” and deploy that via GPO. I have not tried it myself, But I would try installing it on my local machine, then copying the program files Spark directory and see if I could move that to another machine and have it run OK. The desktop shortcuts/launcher shortcuts should point to the Spark.exe file in Spark’s directory.

Okay, I found an answer.

spark_2_6_3.exe -q ------ WORKS! YEA!

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infact I found some other things that may be helpful!

Quiet install to custom directory:

spark_2_6_3.exe -q -dir c:\MyProg

Quiet install but does put the words “Extracting files…” and then “Finishing installation…” on the command line (note you need to press enter after you see “Finishing installation…” or is looks like it just waits forever:

spark_2_6_3.exe -q -c

hmm, that’s new to me. you learn something new every day! thanks!

Sometimes you need to learn it twice We’ve discussed this switch and other alternatives here http://community.igniterealtime.org/thread/50408

Man, searching the forums, I never saw this post.

Is this something we could add to the User Guide. Or better, have an Administrator’s guide?

I don’t think this fits the User Guide. Of course someone can create an Administrator’s guide, say as a Document in the forums. It will get lost and would be hard to find probably. Or it could be added to the Projects > Spark > Documentation. But i think it needs more than just the unattended install. If someone has time to write such document, i can file a ticket and then it will be added as a link to that page.

Doh!