The installer

The installer is an Inno Setup 6 script, installer/JBrowser.iss, compiled by tools\build_installer.ps1, which passes in the version and folders (/D…) and then writes JBrowser-Setup-<version>.exe.sha256 in sha256sum format (<hash> <file name>).

What it does#


Installs to	`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\JBrowser`, for the current user, without an administrator prompt (`PrivilegesRequired=lowest`) and without asking "for me or for all users". `/ALLUSERS` on the command line installs to Program Files.
Shortcuts	Start menu, and an optional desktop icon (the `desktopicon` task)
Browser registration	The `browser` task (on by default) registers JBrowser under `StartMenuInternet` and `RegisteredApplications` with `http`, `https`, `.htm`, `.html` and `.pdf` handlers (`JBrowserURL`, `JBrowserHTML`, New in 2.0.1 `JBrowserPDF`), so it can be chosen in Settings → Apps → Default apps, and adds itself to the Open with lists of those file types (`OpenWithProgids`). Windows never lets an installer make itself the default; JBrowser's Settings › Default apps page shows the current choice and opens Windows' page.
Upgrades	Installs over the previous version (same `AppId`), removing the old `_internal` folder first so no stale Qt files remain
Silent mode	`/SILENT` or `/VERYSILENT`. JBrowser's own `/RELAUNCH` switch starts the new version at the end (the updater uses it)
Uninstall	From Apps & features; asks whether to delete the user's data too (default: keep). A silent uninstall always keeps it.
Requirements	64-bit Windows 10 1809 or newer (`MinVersion=10.0.17763`)

A running JBrowser#

Setup uses the Windows Restart Manager (CloseApplications=force). The Preparing to Install page offers to close JBrowser; Windows then asks it to close, JBrowser saves its session and exits in order (when Windows closes JBrowser), and any leftover web-engine processes are ended. The last page offers to start JBrowser again. Silent installs close it automatically.

The uninstaller still refuses to run while JBrowser is open: it checks the JBrowser.AppMutex mutex the app holds, so no files are left behind.

Don't bring back AppMutex= in [Setup]

That is what 1.4.0 did: Setup stopped with "JBrowser is currently running" and no way to continue.

Editing the script#

Never change AppId. Windows recognises JBrowser by it; a new value installs a second copy instead of upgrading.
The output name JBrowser-Setup-<version>.exe must keep that form: the updater looks for it (INSTALLER_RE in services/updater.py).
AppVersion, SourceDir and OutputDir come from the build script; the #ifndef defaults only matter when compiling by hand.
.iss files use CRLF line endings (see .editorconfig).

Testing without touching a real installation#

A test install with the real AppId replaces the uninstall entry and shortcuts of the JBrowser you use every day. Compile a copy of the script with a different AppId and AppName, install that into a temporary folder, try it, and uninstall it:

$dir = "$env:TEMP\jb-install-test"
.\JBrowser-Test-Setup.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /DIR="$dir" /TASKS=""
& "$dir\JBrowser.exe" --profile-dir "$env:TEMP\jb-install-profile"
& "$dir\unins000.exe" /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES

/TASKS="" skips the desktop icon and the browser registration.