Installer options and return codes

SqlCompare-win-Setup.exe installs SQLTreeo Compare for the current user. It needs no administrator rights, installs into %LocalAppData%\SqlCompare, creates a Start menu and a desktop shortcut, and registers the application under Settings > Apps > Installed apps. The installer is self-contained: it carries the application and the .NET runtime and does not download anything during installation.

Requirements: Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit (x64). About 320 MB of free disk space during installation.

Command line options

Option	Effect
--silent (-s)	No dialogs. Every prompt is answered with “yes”, so an existing installation is replaced without asking. Use this for deployment tools.
--installto <folder> (-t)	Install into another folder instead of %LocalAppData%\SqlCompare.
--log <file> (-l)	Write the installer log to the given file.
--verbose (-v)	Print debug messages to the console.
--help (-h)	Print the option list and exit.
-- <arguments>	Everything after -- is passed to SQLTreeo Compare when it starts after installation.

Silent installation for Intune, Configuration Manager, winget or the Microsoft Store:

SqlCompare-win-Setup.exe --silent

Because the installation is per user, run the installer in the context of the user who will use the application, not as SYSTEM.

Return codes

The installer returns one of two exit codes.

Code	Meaning
0	The installation completed successfully. The application has been started (except when the installer was run with --silent by a deployment tool, in which case nothing is left running). 0 is also returned when the installer made no changes because the user cancelled the “already installed, reinstall?” prompt; that prompt only appears without --silent.
1	The installation failed. Without --silent the reason is shown in a dialog; with --silent it is written to the log only.

Reasons for return code 1:

• Not enough free disk space in the destination folder.
• Unsupported Windows version or a CPU architecture other than x64.
• SQLTreeo Compare is running and could not be closed, or the existing installation folder could not be replaced. Close the application, or uninstall it first under Settings > Apps, and run the installer again.
• The installer file is damaged or incomplete, for example after an interrupted download. Download it again.

The installer never requires a restart, does not use the network, and has no separate codes for cancellation, reboot, network or policy failures. If Windows SmartScreen or Smart App Control refuses to start the installer, the installer itself never runs and no return code is produced.

Log files

• Installer: %LocalAppData%\velopack\velopack.log, or the file given with --log.
• Updates applied by the application later: %LocalAppData%\velopack\velopack_SqlCompare.log.

Uninstall

Settings > Apps > Installed apps > SQLTreeo Compare > Uninstall. This removes the installation folder and the shortcuts. Projects (.sqlcmp files) you saved elsewhere, and the settings and license file in %AppData%\SqlCompare, are kept.

Portable version

SqlCompare-win-Portable.zip contains the same application without an installer. Extract it anywhere and start SQLTreeo Compare.exe. The portable version does not update itself.

Single file

Since version 0.1.8, SqlCompare.exe is the same application as one self-contained file. Download it and start it: nothing is installed or unzipped. Like the portable version it does not update itself; download the new version from the downloads page. The settings and the license file are in %AppData%\SqlCompare, as with the installed version.