Step reference

Install applications

Install a whole list of apps in one step from your curated catalogue, either MSI/EXE straight from the vendor with signature verification, or Winget.

2 min readUpdated Jul 31, 2026

What it does

Installs one or more applications from your catalogue in a single step. You pick the apps; StageReady already knows how to install each one, whether that's MSI, EXE, or Winget, so there's no install method to choose and no installer to paste. Apps install in order during setup, each one reported live and recorded permanently.

For the full story on how downloads work, why it's cheap and safe, the ready-to-deploy catalogue, and adding your own apps, see Application deployment.

Options

OptionWhat it controls
ApplicationsThe list of apps to install, chosen from your catalogue. Required.

Good to know

  • Straight from the vendor, signature-verified. MSI/EXE apps download from the vendor's own official URL at install time and have their Authenticode signature checked before they run. Nothing is re-hosted.
  • One app failing doesn't stop the rest. By default this step continues through the list and reports each app's outcome individually, so one bad download doesn't sink the build.
  • Each app has its own time limit. Every app is installed under its own timeout (15 minutes by default, adjustable per app). A single installer that hangs is stopped and marked failed on its own, and the apps after it still install. No one slow app can block the whole step.
  • Needs a network, and runs after Windows is installed.

Your own EXE installers must run unattended

Setup runs with no screen and nobody to click a wizard, so a custom EXE needs a silent/quiet switch (/S, /silent, /quiet; InstallShield /s; Inno Setup /VERYSILENT) supplied as its install arguments. Almost every installer has one. An installer that only works by clicking through a wizard can't be automated until it's repackaged. Apps from the built-in catalogue already run silently, so this only matters when you add your own.

Part of the step catalogue.