WiXMSIBuilder

class starlark_tugger.WiXMSIBuilder

The WiXMSIBuilder type allows building simple MSI installers using the WiX Toolset.

WiXMSIBuilder instances allow you to create and build a .wxs file with common features. A goal of this type is to allow simple applications - without complex installer needs - to generate MSI installers without having to author your own .wxs files.

Instances have multiple attributes, which are write-only.

__init__(id_prefix: str, product_name: str, product_version: str, product_manufacturer: str, arch: str = 'x64') → WiXMSIBuilder

WiXMSIBuilder() is called to construct new instances. It accepts the following arguments:

id_prefix

The string prefix to add to auto-generated IDs in the .wxs XML.

The value must be alphanumeric and - cannot be used.

The value should reflect the application whose installer is being defined.

product_name

The name of the application being installed.

product_version

The version of the application being installed.

This is a string like X.Y.Z, where each component is an integer.

product_manufacturer

The author of the application.

arch

The WiX architecture of the installer.

arch

(str)

The WiX architecture of the installer.

No validation is performed that the value is a valid WiX architecture or that the content of the installer matches the provided architecture.

banner_bmp_path

(str)

The path to a 493 x 58 pixel BMP file providing the banner to display in the installer.

dialog_bmp_path

(str)

The path to a 493 x 312 pixel BMP file providing an image to be displayed in the installer.

eula_rtf_path

(str)

The path to a RTF file containing the EULA that will be shown to users during installation.

help_url

(str)

A URL that will be presented to provide users with help.

license_path

(str)

Path to a file containing the license for the application being installed.

msi_filename

(str)

The filename to use for the built MSI.

If not set, the default is <product_name>-<product_version>.msi.

package_description

(str)

A description of the application being installed.

package_keywords

(str)

Keywords for the application being installed.

product_icon_path

(str)

Path to a file providing the icon for the installed application.

upgrade_code

(str)

A GUID defining the upgrade code for the application.

If not provided, a stable GUID derived from the application name will be derived automatically.

add_program_files_manifest(manifest: FileManifest)

This method registers the content of a FileManifest to be installed in the Program Files directory for this application.

This method accepts the following arguments:

manifest

Files to register for installation.

As files are added, they are checked for code signing compatibility with the action windows-installer-file-added.

add_visual_cpp_redistributable(redist_version: str, platform: str)

This method will locate and add the Visual C++ Redistributable runtime DLL files (e.g. vcruntime140.dll) to the Program Files manifest in the builder, effectively materializing these files in the installed file layout.

This method accepts the following arguments:

redist_version

The version of the Visual C++ Redistributable to search for and add. 14 is the version used for Visual Studio 2015, 2017, and 2019.

platform

Identifies the Windows run-time architecture. Must be one of the values x86, x64, or arm64.

This method uses vswhere.exe to locate the vcruntimeXXX.dll files inside a Visual Studio installation. This should just work if a modern version of Visual Studio is installed. However, it may fail due to system variance.

build(target: str) → ResolvedTarget

This method will build an MSI using the WiX Toolset.

This method accepts the following arguments:

target

The name of the target being built.

Upon successful generation of an installer, the produced installer will be assessed for code signing with the windows-installer-creation action.

to_file_content() → FileContent

Builds the MSI using the WiX Toolset and returns a FileContent representing the built MSI.

Upon successful generation of an installer, the produced installer will be assessed for code signing with the windows-installer-creation action.

write_to_directory(path: str) → str

Builds the MSI using the WiX Toolset and writes that installer to the specified directory, returning the absolute path of the written file.

Absolute paths are treated as-is. Relative paths are relative to the current build path.

Upon successful generation of an installer, the produced installer will be assessed for code signing with the windows-installer-creation action.