| name | analyze-winget-installer |
| description | Analyze Windows installers for WinGet manifests and Dumplings automation. Use when Codex needs to identify EXE/MSI/MSIX/ZIP/portable installer technologies, inspect static metadata, decide InstallerType, ProductCode, UpgradeCode, Scope, InstallerSwitches, AppsAndFeaturesEntries, detect embedded MSI behavior, or plan VM-only dynamic installer testing without executing installers on the host. |
Analyze WinGet Installer
Workflow
Use this skill before writing manifest installer fields or Dumplings task parsing logic:
- Read
references/workflow.md, run the analyzer, and use its single route table to select one focused installer-family page.
- Read
references/installed-state-workflow.md when ARP matching, Protocols, or FileExtensions matter.
- Read
references/vm-validation-workflow.md only for facts static parsing cannot prove.
- Read
references/parser-development-workflow.md only when implementing or refactoring parser code.
The focused family page owns its parser commands, manifest shapes, defaults, exceptions, examples, and implementation sources. Shared manifest field placement and ordering live in the authoring skill's manifest-workflow.md.
Never execute unknown installers on the host. Prefer static parsing. Use dynamic installation only in Windows Sandbox or a Hyper-V VM with checkpoint/restore.
When resolving an existing package identifier or finding package examples, use winget search first. After WinGet returns an identifier, navigate directly to that package's manifest path. Do not recursively scan the complete winget-pkgs tree unless the public source and scoped direct lookup cannot provide the required evidence.
For a quick static pass inside Dumplings, call Get-WinGetInstallerAnalysis -Path <installer> after loading Modules\PackageModule\Index.ps1. The analyzer uses magic bytes and structured evidence before extensions and invokes already-loaded parsers without launching the installer. Route the resulting family through references/workflow.md. For JSON output, use scripts\Analyze-WinGetInstaller.ps1 -Path <installer>.
For staged Hyper-V evidence capture, use scripts\Invoke-WinGetVMInstalledState.ps1. It stages Get-WinGetVMInstalledState.ps1 and captures named checkpoints but never launches the installer or application.
Required Output
Return installer evidence, not just a guessed InstallerType:
- Installer family and confidence level.
- Static parser/tool used and exact metadata extracted.
- Installer architecture and installed application architecture.
ProductVersion, UpgradeCode, PackageFamilyName, visible ARP evidence from HKLM/HKCU uninstall keys, and optional ProductCode evidence when useful.- Whether the EXE writes an EXE ARP entry, an MSI ARP entry, both, or hides one with
SystemComponent.
- Literal protocol and file-extension association evidence, or an explicit statement that the parser cannot prove it statically.
- Required
InstallerSwitches, InstallModes, InstallerSuccessCodes, ExpectedReturnCodes, Scope, ElevationRequirement, and AppsAndFeaturesEntries.
- Which switch and mode values are WinGet defaults for the effective installer type, so the authoring step can omit redundant fields such as NSIS
/S.
- Unsupported-architecture evidence for selecting valid installer entries; do not turn this evidence into
UnsupportedOSArchitectures at the moment.
- Whether dynamic VM validation is required before manifest submission.
Decision Rules
Use specific WinGet installer types when supported: inno, nullsoft, burn, wix, msi, msix, appx, zip, and portable. Use generic exe only when the installer is not a supported known type and silent behavior is known.
For known installer types, distinguish required overrides from WinGet defaults. Do not recommend manifest keys that merely repeat the defaults. For a ZIP, apply this rule using the effective NestedInstallerType.
When an EXE wraps an MSI, do not assume AppsAndFeaturesEntries.InstallerType matches manifest InstallerType. Model the visible ARP entry WinGet will see.
For new packages, avoid adding AppsAndFeaturesEntries.ProductCode unless the package policy or an existing manifest style specifically requires it. Keep product codes as useful evidence for MSI correlation, not as a default Apps & Features field.
When an Inno or NSIS installer supports both user and machine scopes, create duplicate installer entries with distinct Scope and custom switches such as /CURRENTUSER vs /ALLUSERS or lowercase variants, matching the installer’s actual parser or VM evidence.
Block InstallShield InstallScript-only installers when no MSI can be extracted and silent install requires a response file. Response-file installation is not supported by WinGet validation for winget-pkgs.
Local Implementation Pointers
Use these repository-relative sources for deeper implementation details. Upstream format references are recorded in each focused installer page and parser module header.
- Dumplings parser bridge:
Modules\PackageModule\Libraries\InstallerBridge.psm1
- Dumplings shared core:
Modules\PackageModule\Libraries\Runtime.psm1, Binary.psm1, Compression.psm1, Archive.psm1, PE.psm1, RegistryAssociations.psm1
- Portable analysis:
PEArchitecture.psm1, DotNetHost.psm1, PEDependency.psm1, Portable.psm1
- Dumplings parser wrappers:
NSIS.psm1, Inno.psm1, Burn.psm1, AdvancedInstaller.psm1, InstallShield.psm1, Squirrel.psm1, ZeroInstall.psm1, ChromiumSetup.psm1, Wise.psm1, QtInstallerFramework.psm1, Install4j.psm1, MSI.psm1, MSIX.psm1
- GPL parser module:
Modules\InstallerParsers\Cli.ps1, Libraries\NSIS.psm1, Libraries\Inno.psm1, Libraries\AdvancedInstaller.psm1, Libraries\QtInstallerFramework.psm1
- WinGet manifest examples: search for installer family comments and
AppsAndFeaturesEntries.
