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Silent Windows desktop distribution

You can distribute the official Windows desktop app silently to end users using the MSI installer, pre-configured with server URLs and settings. For comprehensive MSI installation options including Group Policy configuration, see the MSI installer and Group Policy guide.

Silent MSI installation​

  1. Download the latest Windows MSI installer from the Mattermost Desktop releases page on GitHub.

  2. Move the MSI file to a shared location such as a file server with read-only permissions.

  3. Use your software deployment tool (SCCM, Intune, PDQ Deploy, etc.) to deploy the MSI with silent installation parameters:

    Silent install:

    msiexec /i \\SERVER\shared_folder\mattermost-desktop-v6.1.0-x64.msi /qn

Pre-configuration with config.json​

To pre-configure servers and settings, create a config.json file in the user's Mattermost data directory before first launch:

Location: %APPDATA%\Mattermost\config.json

Example config.json:

{
  "version": 2,
  "teams": [
    {
      "name": "core",
      "url": "https://community.mattermost.com",
      "order": 0
    },
    {
      "name": "hq",
      "url": "https://hq.example.com",
      "order": 1
    }
  ],
  "showTrayIcon": true,
  "trayIconTheme": "light",
  "minimizeToTray": true,
  "notifications": {
    "flashWindow": 2,
    "bounceIcon": true,
    "bounceIconType": "informational"
  },
  "showUnreadBadge": true,
  "useSpellChecker": true,
  "enableHardwareAcceleration": true,
  "autostart": false,
  "spellCheckerLocale": "en-US",
  "darkMode": false
}

Batch script for silent install with pre-configuration:

rem Install Mattermost desktop app silently
msiexec /i \\SERVER\shared_folder\mattermost-desktop-v6.1.0-x64.msi /qn

rem Wait for installation to complete
timeout /t 10

rem Create config directory if it doesn't exist
if not exist "%APPDATA%\Mattermost" mkdir %APPDATA%\Mattermost

rem Copy pre-configured config.json
copy \\SERVER\shared_folder\config.json %APPDATA%\Mattermost\config.json

Windows App: Silently removing the app​

The MSI installer can be silently uninstalled using:

msiexec /x {PRODUCT-CODE-GUID} /qn

To find the product code for your installed version:

Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*Mattermost*"} | Select-Object Name, IdentifyingNumber

Alternatively, uninstall by searching for the MSI file:

msiexec /x mattermost-desktop-v6.1.0-x64.msi /qn

Migration from EXE to MSI​

Organizations currently using the Windows EXE installer must migrate to the MSI installer or Microsoft Store version:

  1. Uninstall existing EXE version (if desired, optional):

    %userprofile%\AppData\local\Programs\mattermost-desktop\Uninstall Mattermost.exe /currentuser /S

  2. Install MSI version using silent installation commands above.

  3. User data preservation: User settings and credentials are stored in %APPDATA%\Mattermost and will be preserved across the migration.