Alchemy Compatibility Package Deployment Command-Line Options

Cloudhouse Alchemy Compatibility Packages are deployed using the Cloudhouse.Container.Deployment.exe executable. The following table outlines which command-line options are supported:

Note: Command-line options are case insensitive and can be prefixed with either two slashes (--) or a single backslash (/). For example, --deploydir and /deploydir are both valid and will achieve the same result.

Argument Short Alias Specifies
AcceptEula a Accepts the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA). This agreement must be accepted in order to use Alchemy and the Compatibility Packages it creates. You can find the EULA in the root of each Compatibility Package in the eula.html file.
DeployAlias N/A

Specifies an alias for the deployment. The deployment executable only supports the Server alias, which sets:

  • RootHive to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

  • DeployType to Machine.

  • WriteRegistryOnDeploy to true.
Deploydir d

Specifies the deployment directory.

Note: This folder must already exist on the target computer, and if the path contains a space, this argument must be surrounded by quotes. For example: /deploydir "C:\Program Files (x86)".
DeployType t Specifies the deployment type. Valid deployment types are either "User" or "Machine". If a deployment type is not specified, the Compatibility Package is deployed to the Machine.
Dryrun r

Used in combination with update to simulate the update without making any changes to the system.

This saves any changes that will be made to the system in a report called package-diff.json in the source packaging. This lets you verify the performance of any updates before fully deploying them. For more information, see Performing a simulated update (dry run)‍.
EventToken N/A

Expands the %EventToken% variable for use in the Events component. To provide authorization to executables executed as part of the events. If not supplied, %EventToken% will expand to an empty string.

For example:

Copy 
Cloudhouse.Container.Deployment.exe --eventtoken my_token

Tip: This feature was introduced in Alchemy October 2024, V4.7.2410.3821 of Package Runtimes.
Force f Forces the deployment, even if it fails.
Help h Displays help and this list of options.
Licensing l Used in combination with update to perform the update against the licensing component only. No other components are updated if this argument is used. This saves any changes that will be made to the system in a report called package-diff.json in the source package and updates all run tokens in all the required run token stores.
Noregister N/A

Stops the user context components from being written at deploy time. The user context components are File Associations (FileAssociations.xml) and Shortcuts (Shortcuts.xml).

True if the argument exists.

False if the argument does not exist.
Nouninstallentry N/A

Ensures an uninstall entry is not created in the Windows add/remove programs component during deployment.

For example:

Copy 
Cloudhouse.Container.Deployment.exe --nouninstallentry

Tip: This feature was introduced in Alchemy October 2024, V4.7.2410.3821 of Package Runtimes.
Register N/A

Writes the user context components of a Compatibility Package to the current users context. The user context components are File Associations (FileAssociations.xml) and Shortcuts (Shortcuts.xml).
RootHive h

Specifies the hive where registry keys in AppRegistry.xml and ComRegistry.xml will be written. This also specifies where the redirections in Redirections.xml will redirect to.

Supported values are either "User" for the HKEY_CURRENT_USER hive or "Machine" for the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive.

If this argument is not specified, the default will be "User".
Shared s A shared deployment.

TokenFileLocation

Deprecated 		k Specifies the name and path of the Usage Token for Usage Reporting. If the path contains a space, this argument must be surrounded by quotes. For example: /tokenfilelocation "C:\Program Files (x86)\usage-testcontainer.token".
Unregister N/A Unregisters the Compatibility Package by removing the user context components of a Package from the current user's context. The user context components are File Associations (FileAssociations.xml) and Shortcuts (Shortcuts.xml).
Uninstall u Uninstalls the Compatibility Package.
Update p Updates the Compatibility Package.
WriteRegistry w Writes the registry entries in AppRegistry.xml and ComRegistryKeys.xml at deployment time instead of at run time.