Distribution and Integration

The msi-generator is designed for high portability and easy integration into existing native build pipelines.

Standalone CLI

The primary distribution format is a statically linked CLI binary. This ensures that the tool can run on any CI/CD environment without installing the D runtime or a compiler.

Platforms

Windows: x86_64-pc-windows-msvc
Linux: x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
macOS: x86_64-apple-darwin

JSON Specification (`msi.json`)

To decouple the build logic from the tool, we use a JSON specification.

{
  "name": "MyProject",
  "manufacturer": "DevCenter",
  "productVersion": "1.0.0.0",
  "productCode": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
  "upgradeCode": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001",
  "rootFolder": {
    "id": "INSTALLDIR",
    "name": "My App",
    "parentId": "",
    "subfolders": []
  },
  "components": [],
  "features": []
}

The JSON schema is available at schema/msi-spec.schema.json.

Integrations

CMake / CPack

The CMake integration is currently experimental and incomplete. It does not yet generate valid JSON with required UUID fields.

A CMake module is provided in cmake/MSIGenerator.cmake. To use it:

include(cmake/MSIGenerator.cmake)
if(CPACK_MSI_GENERATOR_FOUND)
    cpack_msi_generator_generate_spec()
endif()

GitHub Actions

Use the official action to generate installers in your CI:

- uses: devcntr-app/msi-generator@main
  with:
    spec: 'msi.json'
    output: 'myapp.msi'

Library Usage (DUB)

Add msi-generator as a dependency in your dub.json:

"dependencies": {
    "msi-generator": "~>1.0.0"
}