HttpWatch Help Version 16.x
Using HttpWatch / Silent Install and Installer Command Line Arguments
In This Topic
    Silent Install and Installer Command Line Arguments
    In This Topic

    Starting HttpWatch Setup Without a User Interface (Silent Mode)

    HttpWatch can be installed from batch files, on the command line or from automated tools like SMS by supplying command line arguments to the setup program:

        httpwatchpro.exe /S [/all-users=1] [/errorpath=...] [/license=...] [/ChromeExtension=0|1] [/EdgeExtension=0|1] [/D=< font>
    

    By default, a silent install installs for the current user only (This User) and does not require administrator rights. To install for all users on the machine, add /all-users=1 and run the installer from an elevated (administrator) command prompt.

    Setup Command Line Arguments

    The command line options are shown below:

    The names of the command line flags are case sensitive

     

    /S

    This causes the setup program to run with no GUI and to require no interaction, i.e. Silent Mode install

    /all-users=1

    Installs for all users on the machine. The installer must be run from an elevated (administrator) command prompt when using this option. When this option is absent, the installer defaults to a This User install which does not require administrator rights.

    /errorpath

    This specifies where files containing error information should be written. If this option is not specified the files will be written to the directory containing the setup program.

    Example:

    /errorpath=c:\temp

    "/errorpath=c:\temp\error logs"

    If the path error file contains spaces use double quotes around the whole argument not just the value

    /ChromeExtension=0|1

    Disables or enables the HttpWatch extension in Google Chrome. When omitted, a fresh installation defaults to enabled.

    /EdgeExtension=0|1

    Disables or enables the HttpWatch extension in Microsoft Edge. When omitted, a fresh installation defaults to enabled.

    /license

    This sets the file name of the HttpWatch Professional edition license. Use the value '[installed]' to use an existing, installed license. Here are some examples

    /license=httpwatch.lic

    /license=D:\temp\httpwatch.lic

    /license=\\server1\share1\httpwatch.lic

    /license=[installed]

    "/license=D:\temp\folder name with space\httpwatch.lic"

    If the path or file name to the license file contains spaces use double quotes around the whole argument not just the value

    /D

    The default install directory can be changed using this flag. e.g.

    /D=c:\program files\networktools\httpwatch

    If the /D argument is used then it must be the last argument on the command line and must not contain double quotes even if the destination folder contains spaces.

    Examples

    Silent This User install (no administrator rights required):

        start /wait httpwatchpro.exe /S /license=[installed]
    

    Silent All Users install (must be run from an elevated command prompt):

        start /wait httpwatchpro.exe /S /all-users=1 "/license=C:\Deploy\HttpWatch.lic" /D=C:\Program Files\HttpWatch
    

    Silent Uninstall

    The HttpWatch uninstaller supports the /S flag for silent operation. The /all-users flag must match the mode that was used when HttpWatch was originally installed:

    Silent uninstall of a This User installation:

        start /wait uninstall.exe /S /all-users=0
    

    Silent uninstall of an All Users installation (must be run from an elevated command prompt):

        start /wait uninstall.exe /S /all-users=1
    


    Detecting Errors

    If an error occurs during a silent install no message box or dialogs are displayed. The setup program will have a non zero exit code and one of the following files will be written:

    httpwatch_reboot.txt

    Indicates that the setup requires a reboot to complete

    httpwatch_error.txt

    Is written if the setup program could not complete, e.g. the destination directory is not writable.

    The directory, in which these files are written, can be controlled using the /errorpath command line flag. When the setup program completes successfully it will have an exit code of zero and no error files are written.

    Waiting for the Setup Program to Finish

    To run directly from the command line or in a batch file, you will need to use the Windows Start command to wait for the setup program to complete, e.g.

    start /wait httpwatchpro.exe /S /license=[installed]
    

    Automatically installing and enabling the HttpWatch extension in Chrome

    Using Chrome extension policies it is possible to force the HttpWatch extension to be automatically enabled in Chrome without any user intervention. This technique is described in the following blog post:

    https://blog.httpwatch.com/2021/08/06/how-to-automatically-install-and-enable-a-chrome-extension/

    See Also