Playing around with a powershell script for unattended install, but i still end up with install wizard

djalfe · October 8, 2025, 10:15pm

Hey there

Can someone see where I’m going wrong in this script?
Nothing seems to be failing, but it feels like I’m missing something.

// Allan

# Prompt for project name
$projectName = Read-Host "Enter project name"

# Prompt for Umbraco version (or use latest)
$versionInput = Read-Host "Enter Umbraco version (e.g. 16.2.0) or press Enter for latest"

if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($versionInput)) {
    $versionInput = Invoke-RestMethod "https://api.nuget.org/v3-flatcontainer/umbraco.templates/index.json" |
        Select-Object -ExpandProperty versions |
        Select-Object -Last 1
    Write-Host "Using latest Umbraco.Templates version: $versionInput"
} else {
    Write-Host "Using specified version: $versionInput"
}

# Install Umbraco.Templates
dotnet new -i "Umbraco.Templates::$versionInput"

# Create solution folder
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $projectName -Force | Out-Null
Set-Location $projectName

# Create .sln file
dotnet new sln --name $projectName

# Create Umbraco project in www folder
dotnet new umbraco --name $projectName --output ./www

# Add project to solution
dotnet sln add "./www/$projectName.csproj" --in-root

# Create appsettings.Local.json with Unattended Install
@"
{
  ""ConnectionStrings"": {
    ""umbracoDbDSN"": ""Data Source=|DataDirectory|Umbraco.sqlite.db;Cache=Shared;Foreign Keys=True;Pooling=True"",
    ""umbracoDbDSN_ProviderName"": ""Microsoft.Data.Sqlite""
  },
  ""Umbraco"": {
    ""CMS"": {
      ""Global"": {
        ""InstallMissingDatabase"": true
      },
      ""Unattended"": {
        ""InstallUnattended"": true,
        ""UnattendedUserName"": ""johndoe"",
        ""UnattendedUserEmail"": ""[email protected]"",
        ""UnattendedUserPassword"": ""12345Password!""
      }
    }
  }
}
"@ | Set-Content -Path "./www/appsettings.Local.json"

Write-Host "appsettings.Local.json created with Unattended Install configuration."

# Prompt for package installation
$installExtras = Read-Host "Do you want to install PreviewBlock, uSync and Contentment? (yes/no)"

if ($installExtras -eq "yes") {
    Write-Host "Installing packages..."

    switch -Regex ($versionInput) {
        "^16\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "6.0.0-alpha009"
            $usyncVersion = "16.0.5"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "4.0.3"
        }
        "^13\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "5.2.0"
            $usyncVersion = "13.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        "^12\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "4.3.0"
            $usyncVersion = "12.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        "^11\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "4.2.0"
            $usyncVersion = "11.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        "^10\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "4.0.0"
            $usyncVersion = "10.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        default {
            Write-Host "Unknown Umbraco version. Installing latest stable versions."
            $contentmentVersion = "5.2.0"
            $usyncVersion = "13.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
    }

    dotnet add "./www/$projectName.csproj" package Umbraco.Community.Contentment --version $contentmentVersion
    dotnet add "./www/$projectName.csproj" package uSync --version $usyncVersion
    dotnet add "./www/$projectName.csproj" package Umbraco.Community.BlockPreview --version $blockPreviewVersion

    Write-Host "Packages installed:"
    Write-Host "   - Contentment $contentmentVersion"
    Write-Host "   - uSync $usyncVersion"
    Write-Host "   - BlockPreview $blockPreviewVersion"
} else {
    Write-Host "Package installation skipped."
}

# Build and run the project
Set-Location "./www"
dotnet build
dotnet run

Write-Host "Umbraco project '$projectName' has been created and is running with Unattended Install."
Write-Host "User: johndoe | Email: [email protected] | Password: 12345Password!"
Write-Host "Database: Umbraco.sqlite.db | Login ready without browser setup."

Rockerby · October 8, 2025, 11:22pm

Nice script! Should it not output to appsettings.Development.json, not appsettings.Local.json?

Luuk · October 9, 2025, 7:35am

For unattended install, to my knowledge you need:

A database connectionstring
InstallUnattended set to true
A Unattended username, password and email

All seem present, so that’s not the issue.

mistyn8 · October 9, 2025, 9:51am

Will run with the ASPNETCORE_ENVIRONMENT as Production
I think (or maybe also influenced by the presence of a launchprofile).. so as per @Rockerby won’t pick up your appsettings.Local.json

dotnet run -e Local should explicitly set

ps donet run -e Local -c Release if you don’t want to run in debug

mistyn8 · October 9, 2025, 10:42am

I also have..

# Ensure we have the version specific Umbraco templates
$templateList = dotnet new uninstall | Out-String #-NoNewline
$packageVersion = $templateList | Select-String '(?s)Umbraco.Templates.*Version: (.*?)\r\n'| Select-Object -expand Matches | Select-Object -expand Groups | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Value -Skip 1 -First 1
if ($packageVersion -ne $versionInput)
{
    dotnet new install Umbraco.Templates::$versionInput --force 
}

So as not to reinstall if already installed.. might save a few seconds

and also

$currentPath = Split-Path -parent $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition
Write-output $currentPath

to use the ps file location rather than current path for the project root..

and for good measure..

dotnet nuget locals http-cache --clear

Also launching in vs rather than running in terminal…

Invoke-Item ".\$projectName.sln"

sebastiaan · October 9, 2025, 3:08pm

If you don’t know about https://psw.codeshare.co.uk/ yet, then I can tell you that this covers most, if not all of your PS script here.

It supports unattended installs, adding NuGet packages by default, creating docker files, etc.

djalfe · October 9, 2025, 11:26pm

Thank you for your input — it helped me move forward and create a usable script.

My initial thoughts with the script were:

Install the desired Umbraco version
Create the solution and project structure
Add Unattended Install with user and database
Offer optional packages like Contentment, uSync, and BlockPreview
Provide the option to open Visual Studio (.sln file)

It’s working now, so thank you.

I’m thinking of experimenting with connecting the frontend part — maybe using npm, webpack, and Bootstrap 5.

Her is the result

# Prompt for project name
$projectName = Read-Host "Enter project name"

# Prompt for Umbraco version (or use latest)
$versionInput = Read-Host "Enter Umbraco version (e.g. 16.2.0) or press Enter for latest"

if ([string]::IsNullOrWhiteSpace($versionInput)) {
    $versionInput = Invoke-RestMethod "https://api.nuget.org/v3-flatcontainer/umbraco.templates/index.json" |
        Select-Object -ExpandProperty versions |
        Select-Object -Last 1
    Write-Host "Using latest Umbraco.Templates version: $versionInput"
} else {
    Write-Host "Using specified version: $versionInput"
}

# Install Umbraco.Templates
dotnet new -i "Umbraco.Templates::$versionInput"

# Create solution folder
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $projectName -Force | Out-Null
Set-Location $projectName

# Create .sln file
dotnet new sln --name $projectName

# Create Umbraco project in www folder
dotnet new umbraco --name $projectName --output ./www

# Add project to solution
dotnet sln add "./www/$projectName.csproj" --in-root

# Create appsettings.Development.json for Unattended Install
$config = @{
  ConnectionStrings = @{
    umbracoDbDSN = "Data Source=|DataDirectory|/Umbraco.sqlite.db;Cache=Shared;Foreign Keys=True;Pooling=True"
    umbracoDbDSN_ProviderName = "Microsoft.Data.Sqlite"
  }
  Umbraco = @{
    CMS = @{
      Global = @{ InstallMissingDatabase = $true }
      Unattended = @{
        InstallUnattended = $true
        UnattendedUserName = "John Doe"
        UnattendedUserEmail = "[email protected]"
        UnattendedUserPassword = "!Password12345"
      }
    }
  }
}

$config | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 | Out-File -FilePath "./www/appsettings.Development.json" -Encoding utf8

Write-Host "appsettings.Development.json created with Unattended Install configuration."

# Prompt for package installation
$installExtras = Read-Host "Do you want to install PreviewBlock, uSync and Contentment? (yes/no)"

if ($installExtras -match '^(y|yes)$') {
    Write-Host "Installing packages..."

    switch -Regex ($versionInput) {
        "^16\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "6.0.0-alpha009"
            $usyncVersion = "16.0.5"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "4.0.3"
        }
        "^13\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "5.2.0"
            $usyncVersion = "13.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        "^12\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "4.3.0"
            $usyncVersion = "12.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        "^11\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "4.2.0"
            $usyncVersion = "11.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        "^10\." {
            $contentmentVersion = "4.0.0"
            $usyncVersion = "10.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
        default {
            Write-Host "Unknown Umbraco version. Installing latest stable versions."
            $contentmentVersion = "5.2.0"
            $usyncVersion = "13.0.0"
            $blockPreviewVersion = "1.13.7"
        }
    }

    dotnet add "./www/$projectName.csproj" package Umbraco.Community.Contentment --version $contentmentVersion
    dotnet add "./www/$projectName.csproj" package uSync --version $usyncVersion
    dotnet add "./www/$projectName.csproj" package Umbraco.Community.BlockPreview --version $blockPreviewVersion

    Write-Host "Packages installed:"
    Write-Host "   - Contentment $contentmentVersion"
    Write-Host "   - uSync $usyncVersion"
    Write-Host "   - BlockPreview $blockPreviewVersion"
} else {
    Write-Host "Package installation skipped."
}

# Build and run the project
Set-Location "./www"
dotnet build

# Start Umbraco in the background
Start-Process "dotnet" -ArgumentList "run"

Write-Host "Umbraco is starting in the background..."

# Wait for the database to be created
Write-Host "Waiting for Umbraco.sqlite.db to be created..."
$timeout = 60
$elapsed = 0
while (-not (Test-Path "umbraco/Data/Umbraco.sqlite.db") -and $elapsed -lt $timeout) {
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 1
    $elapsed++
}

if (Test-Path "umbraco/Data/Umbraco.sqlite.db") {
    Write-Host "Umbraco project '$projectName' is ready with Unattended Install."
    Write-Host "User: John Doe | Email: [email protected] | Password: !Password12345"
    Write-Host "Database: Umbraco.sqlite.db has been created."
    
    Write-Host ""
    Write-Host "Tip: If you want to continue working in Visual Studio, simply press Ctrl+C to stop the running server."
    Write-Host "Then open the solution file '$projectName.sln' in Visual Studio and start coding from there."
    Write-Host ""

    Get-Process dotnet | Stop-Process

    Write-Host ""
    $answer = Read-Host "Would you like to open the solution file '$projectName.sln' in Visual Studio now? (yes/no)"

    if ($answer -match '^(y|yes)$') {
       $slnPath = Join-Path (Get-Location) "../$projectName.sln"
    
       if (Test-Path $slnPath) {
           Write-Host "Launching Visual Studio with '../$projectName.sln'..."
           Start-Process $slnPath
       } else {
        Write-Host "Solution file '../$projectName.sln' not found in current directory."
       }
    } else {
       Write-Host "No problem. You can open '../$projectName.sln' manually whenever you're ready."
    }

} else {
    Write-Host "Timeout reached. The database was not created within $timeout seconds."
    Write-Host "Please check logs or run 'dotnet run' manually to debug."
}

system · November 8, 2025, 11:26pm

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