Install Coordinator

Install Coordinator is a Dev-Centr desktop service for GUI-first reinstall workflows when winget is not enough and raw EXE installers fight over _MSIExecute.

What it does

  • Thin stub by default — install-coordinator submit manifest.json registers a job and exits; the daemon owns the queue.

  • State machine — collecting → ready → queued → blocked / executing → done | failed | cancelled.

  • MSI lane — waits on Global\_MSIExecute, runs msiexec steps serially; non-MSI steps run when path claims do not conflict.

  • Two surfaces

    • User (local) — install-coordinator gui opens a framed app window (/ui/user). Friendly labels; blocked from remote IPs.

    • Admin (remote-capable) — JSON API + /ui/admin. Localhost is open; non-local clients need Authorization: Bearer <token> when bound beyond loopback.

  • Session batching — lock admin approval for the daemon session; default per-user vs per-machine scope; org policy batch flag.

  • Presentation modes — thinStub (default), detachedCollect (reserved), embeddedQueue (discouraged).

Quick start

install-coordinator daemon
install-coordinator new-manifest "My App" C:/path/to/setup.msi my-app.json
install-coordinator submit my-app.json
install-coordinator gui

Remote admin

install-coordinator daemon --remote --auth-token=YOUR_SECRET
# From another machine:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_SECRET" http://HOST:17420/jobs

UniGetUI

Package managers like UniGetUI can still install many apps; Install Coordinator helps when users double-click several EXE/MSI installers and hit error 1618. Desktop / Start Menu shortcuts work from the user UI or CLI.

Installer framework (UIL)

Install Coordinator is documented as a queue plane plus the Unity Install Layout (UIL) contract for package roles, shell claims, and transaction journals. Start with Framework + UIL and UIL reference.

install-coordinator uil validate examples/uil-classic-demo.uil.json
install-coordinator uil plan examples/uil-classic-demo.uil.json --dry-run

Related