Command Line Installations

Command line argument keys can be used to modify the installation process. Each operating system supports launching with arguments that contain some small modifications to ensure they are passed through to the installer:

• Windows: Requires quotes for file paths or path separators.
• Mac: Requires open -a command with --args before the args to pass to the installer
• Linux: A -- arg should go before installer args

Note that all arguments should be quoted for Mac and Linux.

Arguments Table

The table below lists the supported arguments.

Command Line Argument Key	Description	Possible Values	Example
unattended	The unattended install mode to run the installer in. It runs with all default values unless otherwise specified. The unattended upgrades remove known IA modules that are deprecated, leaves third party as they are, and upgrades currently installed bundled modules. Additionally, unattended upgrades do not trigger the Ignition service to start automatically. The Ignition service must be started by a user.  The argument also works with the uninstaller, allowing for unattended uninstalls.	graphical: Run with full size installer window but no interaction minimal: Shows a progress bar only unless errors occur text: Feedback on the command line only, no GUI none: Completely silent, no feedback except for the log file when complete regardless of success or fail	"unattended=minimal"
textMode	Whether to run this installer in interactive text mode, regardless of graphical support. Note that unattended supersedes this value.	true: Run in text mode false: Do not run in text mode	"textMode=true"
location	Overrides the default installation directory, allowing you to specify where Ignition should be installed.	A fully qualified file path.	"location=/usr/local/ignition"
logLevel	The logging level for the installer. The default is INFO, however more detail can be provided, revealing more information about the install process, as well as the installer's internal operations.	Options are (from most granular to least granular): trace debug info warn error	"logLevel=trace"
user	Sets the ownership of the install to this user.	The username (as recognized by the operating system) that should be the owner of the installation.	"user=myUser"
serviceName	Sets the service name for the Gateway. Defaults to "Ignition". When running the graphical installer, the service is installed immediately on Windows and set for optional future installs on Linux/Mac. When using this key with the unattended key during an upgrade, the existing service on windows will be removed, and replaced by a new service.	Any valid name	"serviceName=my-gateway"
autoStart	Boolean that specifies whether or not to automatically start the Gateway after installing or upgrading is complete. By default, clean installs will automatically start the Gateway, but upgrades will not. Will revert to default behavior if this argument is not specified.	true: Starts the Gateway without any user input after installing/upgrading. false: Forces the install/upgrade to not automatically start the Gateway after install/upgrade is complete.	"autoStart=true"
restoreGwbk	Stages a Gateway backup to restore upon first startup. Works for new installs only.	A qualified file path to a valid Gateway backup (.gwbk) file.	"restoreGwbk=\Users\user\Downloads\myBackup.gwbk"
skipBackup	Tells the installer to skip taking a Gateway backup during an upgrade.	true: Skips taking a Gateway backup when upgrading. false: A Gateway backup will be taken when upgrading.	"skipBackup=true"
gwbkTimeout	Sets the timeout value (in seconds) for when taking a Gateway backup during the upgrade process. Default is 300.	Number of seconds	"gwbkTimeout=300"
safeUpgrade	Tells Ignition to keep the temporary Gateway backup files that the upgrade process would otherwise delete.	true: The installer will retain the Gateway backup file. false: The installer will delete the Gateway backup file.	"safeUpgrade=true"
userHome	Sets the location that the Java log will be stored to. This does not affect wrapper logs.	The qualified file path to the location to store the installer's Java log.	"userHome=\Program Files\Inductive Automation\Ignition"

Extraction Location - Windows

The installer's payload, which includes the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) and a .zip of the Gateway, is extracted to the directory Windows uses for storing temporary files. These files are then removed once the installer is done. You can change the temporary location by setting either TMP or TEMP before issuing the command:

set TEMP=D:\staging
"Ignition Installer.exe" unattended=none

When starting, the installer will create a new directory and delete it when installation is complete. If an installation is stopped or cancelled while running, this directory will be left behind. Elevated permissions are required to write to both directories, since the JRE itself is executed with elevated permissions.

When uninstalling, the uninstall executable will copy both itself and its runtime to a temporary directory and relaunch. After completion, the installer will remove the contents in the temporary directory.

Example Commands

The following examples demonstrate how arguments can be used when running the installer. For the purposes of these examples, any mention of a user directory will use yourUser. These should be replaced by appropriate values when attempting to run the installer on your system.

Depending on the Ignition version you are installing you may also need to remove the x from x64 text.

Windows

# Runs the installer on command line only and requires user interaction.
"Ignition Installer.exe" textMode=true
 
# Runs the installer on command line, changes the default install directory, and uses the "text" unattended mode.
"Ignition Installer.exe" unattended=text "location=C:\Ignition"

#REM silent install to the default location
"Ignition Installer.exe" unattended=none

#REM silent install elsewhere, no service start, named service
"Ignition Installer.exe" unattended=none "location=D:\Ignition" autoStart=false serviceName=IgnitionProd

#REM silent install seeded from a gateway backup
"Ignition Installer.exe" unattended=none "restoreGwbk=C:\backups\prod.gwbk"

#REM upgrade in place, keeping the temporary backups, with per-action logging
"Ignition Installer.exe" unattended=none safeUpgrade=true logLevel=TRACE

#REM silent uninstall
"C:\Program Files\Inductive Automation\Ignition\Uninstall.exe" unattended=none

Mac

# Runs the installer on command line only and requires user interaction.
open -a /Volumes/IgnitionInstaller/ignition-8.3.11-osx-installer.app --args "textMode=true"
 
# Runs the installer on command line, changes the default install directory, and uses the "text" unattended mode.
open -a /Volumes/IgnitionInstaller/ignition-8.3.11-osx-installer.app --args "unattended=text" "location=/Users/yourUser/Desktop/test"

Linux

# Runs the installer on command line only and requires user interaction.
"/home/yourUser/Downloads/ignition-8.3.11-linux-x64-installer.run" -- "textMode=true"
 
# Runs the installer on command line, changes the default install directory, and uses the "text" unattended mode.
"/home/yourUser/Downloads/ignition-8.3.11-linux-x64-installer.run" -- "unattended=text" "location=/home/yourUser/Desktop/test"