host-config-from-installer

name	host-config-from-installer
description	Interactively install any Windows .exe software with the customer, test it, upload the installer to S3, and convert the working steps into a PowerShell host configuration script for AWS Deadline Cloud Service Managed Fleets. Use when a customer says "I have an installer", "I want to install X on my fleet", "convert my install steps to a host config", or "help me set up X on Deadline Cloud workers". Works for any software that ships as a Windows .exe installer.
tags	["skill","host-configuration","deadline-cloud","powershell","installer","service-managed-fleet","windows"]

Host Config from Installer

Overview

This skill walks a customer through installing any Windows .exe software on their local machine, verifies it works, uploads the installer to S3, and converts the verified steps into a PowerShell host configuration script for AWS Deadline Cloud Windows Service Managed Fleets.

The generated .ps1 is based on commands that were actually tested and confirmed working — not guesswork or templates.

Usage

Use this skill when:

• A customer has a .exe installer and wants it running on their Deadline Cloud fleet workers
• A customer wants to convert a manual install process into a host config script
• The software isn't covered by an existing specific skill (e.g. 3dsmax-host-config)

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm the customer has:

• The .exe installer file available locally on a Windows machine
• AWS CLI installed and configured with credentials that have s3:PutObject access
• An S3 bucket in the same region as their Deadline Cloud farm (or willingness to create one)
• PowerShell available on their local machine

Workflow

You MUST follow these steps in order. At each step, execute the command, check the output, and do not proceed until the step succeeds.

Step 1: Gather information

Ask the customer:

• What software are they installing? (name and version)
• Where is the installer file located locally? (full path)
• Do they have an S3 bucket already, or do they need one created?
• What is their AWS region?

Step 2: Try the silent install

Run the installer with common silent flags. Try them in this order until one works:

# Attempt 1 - NSIS style
Start-Process "<installer-path>" -ArgumentList '/S' -Wait -PassThru

# Attempt 2 - Inno Setup style
Start-Process "<installer-path>" -ArgumentList '/VERYSILENT', '/SUPPRESSMSGBOXES', '/NORESTART' -Wait -PassThru

# Attempt 3 - MSI wrapped in exe
Start-Process "<installer-path>" -ArgumentList '/quiet', '/norestart' -Wait -PassThru

# Attempt 4 - InstallShield style
Start-Process "<installer-path>" -ArgumentList '-s' -Wait -PassThru

After each attempt, check whether the software was installed by looking for it in C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\. Ask the customer to confirm.

If none of the above work, ask the customer to check the installer's documentation or run <installer-path> /? or <installer-path> /help to discover the correct flags.

Step 3: Verify the install

Once installed, verify the software runs correctly. Ask the customer to run the most basic verification command for the software — for example:

# Check the install directory exists
Get-ChildItem "C:\Program Files\<SoftwareName>"

# Try running the executable
& "C:\Program Files\<SoftwareName>\<executable>.exe" --version

Confirm with the customer that the output looks correct before proceeding.

Step 4: Capture environment changes

Ask the customer to check what environment variables or PATH entries the installer added:

# Check machine-level env vars
[System.Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariables('Machine') | Format-List

Note down any new variables or PATH entries — these will need to be set explicitly in the host config script since the installer won't run interactively on fleet workers.

Step 5: Ensure the S3 bucket exists

If the customer doesn't have a bucket yet, create one:

aws s3 mb s3://<bucket-name> --region <region>

Important: Make sure the fleet's IAM role has s3:GetObject permission on this bucket. Without it, workers won't be able to download the installer at runtime.

If they already have one, verify access:

aws s3 ls s3://<bucket-name>

Step 6: Upload the installer to S3

aws s3 cp "<local-installer-path>" s3://<bucket-name>/<installer-filename>

Confirm the upload succeeded:

aws s3 ls s3://<bucket-name>/<installer-filename>

Step 7: Generate the host config script

Using the working install command from Step 2 and the env vars from Step 4, generate a .ps1 host configuration script. Place it in a new folder under host_configuration_scripts/:

host_configuration_scripts/<software-name>/<software-name>.ps1
host_configuration_scripts/<software-name>/README.md

The script MUST follow this structure:

<#
Description of what this script installs.
Tested with: <software name and version>.
Requirements:
- S3 bucket containing the installer
- Fleet role with s3:GetObject permission
#>

# TODO: Replace with your bucket name
$BUCKET_NAME="your-bucket-name"

# TODO: Replace with your installer file name
$INSTALLER_FILE="<installer-filename>"

Write-Host ' --- Downloading installer --- '

mkdir C:\software_setup -Force
aws s3 cp --no-progress "s3://$BUCKET_NAME/$INSTALLER_FILE" C:\software_setup\

Write-Host ' --- Installing <software> --- '

Start-Process "C:\software_setup\$INSTALLER_FILE" -ArgumentList '<verified-silent-flags>' -Wait

Write-Host ' --- Configuring environment --- '

# Set any env vars captured in Step 4
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('<VAR_NAME>', '<value>', 'Machine')

Exit 0

Step 8: Write the README.md

Include:

• What the script installs
• Installation guide (S3 bucket, upload installer, configure fleet, IAM role, test)
• Note about TODO variables to replace
• Note that config changes only affect Workers launched after the update is applied
• Recommendation to set min Worker count to 1 and check CloudWatch logs (log group: /aws/deadline/<farm-id>/<fleet-id>)

Common Mistakes

• Not using -Wait in Start-Process — the script will proceed before the install finishes
• Forgetting mkdir C:\software_setup -Force before the first download
• Missing Exit 0 at the end
• Env vars set during interactive install won't apply on fleet workers — they MUST be set explicitly with [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(..., 'Machine')
• Fleet IAM role must have s3:GetObject on the bucket — easy to forget