How Ninite Works
Ninite VS WSUS Offline Update Compare Ninite VS WSUS Offline Update and see what are their differences. Ninite is the easiest way to install software. Using 'WSUS Offline Update' (formerly known as 'ct offline update' or 'DIY. Ninite Landing Page. WSUS Offline Update Landing Page.
Ninite tries to behave exactly like a technical friend you've asked toinstall a few apps for you. This means that Ninite installers, regardlessof when or where they were created:
- Say 'No' to toolbars or other junk
- Always install the latest version of an app
- Install the right 32-bit or 64-bit version for a PC
- Install apps in the PC's language
- Skip apps that are already up-to-date
- Upgrade an app if it's out of date
We put a ton of effort into making sure Ninite just does the right thingand we think that's a big reason why people like using it so much.
All the Details
When you make a Ninite installer at http://ninite.comyou're really making an entry in our database that records your app choices.This database entry is also associated with a random installer ID and,if you're using Ninite Pro, your account.
Every Ninite installer you download is stamped with its installer ID. Whenyou run an installer it asks our servers for the latest configuration infofor its ID. This means Ninite installers always install the latestversions of apps, regardless of when they were created. It also meansthat Ninite installers need an internet connection to work. If you want tolock the version that gets installed or make a fully-offline installer wehave a /freeze switch in Ninite Pro.
Once it gets the configuration info the installer checks for currentlyinstalled versions of the apps. Apps that are already up-to-date areskipped. This means you can run the same Ninite installer over and overagain to keep apps current. If you need to repair an app that's alreadyinstalled you can force a reinstallation by clicking the retry/reinstalllink at the top of a completed Ninite installer.
Now that Ninite knows which apps it's installing on this PC it begins todownload and install each one. Downloads and installations work throughthe list of apps independently, so as the first app is being installed thesecond and third may be completely downloaded. Ninite Pro has adownload cache that often allows the downloadstep to be skipped and lets Ninite Pro finish faster.
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Downloads come from the publishers' sites and are checked for correctdigital signatures or matching SHA-1 hashes before Ninite uses them.Ninite automatically downloads and installs the proper 64-bit or 32-bitversions of apps. It also picks apps that match the PC's language setting.These selections are done at runtime so the same Ninite .exe can install64-bit Portuguese apps on one PC and 32-bit English ones on another.
After downloading an app's installer and confirming its validity Ninitebegins to install it. The specifics of this differ for each app but ourmost general technique is to hide the installer's window when werun it and then automate the proper clicks and input to install the appright. Ninite's automation says 'No' to any toolbars or other junkjust like if you asked a technical friend to install an app for you.Settings like installation location are left as their defaults.
And that's how Ninite installs an app.
Command-Line Switch Reference
Ninite has a number of powerful command-line options. Here's a quickreference to all of them.
Switches marked pro are only available in NinitePro.
/locale language-country
Force apps to install in a specific language.
/proxy server port
Use a specific HTTP proxy.
/proxyauth user password
Authenticate with an HTTP proxy.
/repair
Force reinstallation of up-to-date apps.
/silent [report]
Run silently without displaying any user interface. pro
/select app ...
Select apps to install. pro
/prefer app versions ...
Select between major versions of apps. pro
/updateonly
Only select apps that can be updated. pro
/exclude app ...
Exclude certain apps when using /updateonly or /audit. pro
/uninstall
Uninstall the selected apps. pro
/freeze [locale...] [new exe name]
Create a fully-offline .exe installer for the selected apps. pro
/showselection
Show an app selection window. Useful with offline Ninite .exes. pro
/list
List available apps and their versions. pro
/audit
Make an app audit report. pro
/remote [file:machines.txt or machine addresses]
Manage applications on remote PCs. pro
/remoteauth [username] [password]
Set remote authentication info. pro
/disableshortcuts
Don't create desktop or quicklaunch shortcuts. pro
/disableautoupdate
Disable auto-update features for some apps.See details.pro
/allusers
Force some apps to install for all users.See details.pro
/cachepath path
Set a path for the download cache. pro
/nocache
Don't create or use a download cache. pro
/cleancache
Clean up the Ninite download cache by deleting older unused files. pro
We're always working on adding new functionality to Ninite, so if you wantto do something that seems impossible with the current features let usknow. We may be building out some undocumented features thatyou could help us test.
These features are only available in Ninite Pro Classic.
We're working on documentation for the new Pro web interface. For now the available help for that is inline in the interface.
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