Features

• Listen for archives and installers to appear in Downloads folder (as well as any subfolders)
• Auto-unpack .zip, .rar, .7z and .iso archives
• Auto-run .msi installers silently (will also uninstall first)
• Auto-detect installer type and run .exe installers silently (currently supports NSIS, Inno Setup, InstallAware and InstallShield installers)

How to use

• Install latest AutoHotkey_1.1.x.x_setup.exe using installer (v2 is not supported)
• Install 7-Zip 64-bit using installer
• Download and unpack auto-install
• Run auto-install.ahk (or run auto-install.exe.ahk and then auto-install.exe)
• Open folder %UserProfile%\Downloads
• Put installers/archives in the Downloads folder, they should automatically unpack and install

e.g. Bitwig Studio 5.1.2.msi downloaded from the Bitwig download page using Google Chrome:

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Use-cases

• Automatically unpack and install hardware drivers or software you download with your browser, e.g. Google Chrome (notably installers that are not yet available for package managers such as WinGet or Ninite)
• Save all your drivers/software in a folder, and when reinstalling Windows, copy/move them to Downloads folder to automatically unpack and install them all.

protip: most apps save their settings in folders %AppData%, %LocalAppData%, %ProgramData%, %USERPROFILE%\Documents or windows registry paths such as Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE. if you backup these, you will probably be able to automatically restore your app settings after reinstalling windows (instead of having to configure them again manually). more on this here

Troubleshooting

I am out of disk space and I don't want to install to default installer folder

• Run this in cmd/powershell: mklink /j "<DefaultInstallerLocation>" "<DesiredLocation>"
• Then run the installer (or move it to Downloads folder to auto-install)

e.g.: run mklink /j "C:\Program Files\Bitwig Studio" "D:\Apps\Bitwig Studio"

I installed to default installer folder, but now I want to move it to a different drive

• Move the whole folder from <AlreadyInstalledLocation> to <DesiredLocation> (not the contents)
• Run this in cmd/powershell: mklink /j "<AlreadyInstalledLocation>" "<DesiredLocation>"

e.g.: move C:\Program Files\Bitwig Studio folder to D:\Apps\, resulting in D:\Apps\Bitwig Studio. then run: mklink /j "C:\Program Files\Bitwig Studio" "D:\Apps\Bitwig Studio"

protip: you can also save the mklink command in notepad and run it as a .bat file

One of the installers I tried did not run silently

Create an issue. Describe the problem and be sure to include strings2.txt which should have been created next to auto-install.ahk when it scanned for silent install parameters. It usually contains words such as NSIS, Inno Setup etc which auto-install uses to determine which type of installer.

Is there a standalone binary auto-install.exe I can use?

Yes. Simply run auto-install.exe.ahk and AutoHotkey should create a standalone compiled version for you in the same folder

protip: this will have proper taskbar icon, and you can pin it to the taskbar

Does the app leave any files when I remove it?

No. It's a portable app which uses only the folder it is located in to generate things. Simply delete the script folder and it should be like the app never existed.

I am afraid it will run everything that is already in my Downloads folder

It won't. WatchFolder() function only listens for changes (new files added to the Downloads folder or its subfolders). In any case, if you ever need to kill the app, simply press ESC when it is open.

Uses the following binaries/modules

• strings2 by Geoff McDonald
• WatchFolder() by just me
• FileGetVersionInfo_AW() by SKAN
• Stdout() by CyL0N
• taskbarInterface{} by HelgeffegleH

64-bit operating system and installers are prioritized. Not for Mac OS or Linux.