update-installer

PowerShell tool that keeps a folder of Windows installers up to date for VM deployments. Each app has a small script that resolves the latest version; the main script checks them in parallel and downloads only what is missing or outdated.

Quick start

From the parent folder, run update.bat, or:

. .\Start-Update.ps1
Start-Update -Path "F:\windows\_install"

Installers are written to -Path. Old files matching the same search pattern are removed after a successful download.

Options

Parameter	Description
-Path	Target directory for installers
-Force	Run even if already executed today
-enableAll	Include scripts from .util\scripts\disabled
-LogFile	Custom log path (default: logs\update-yyyyMMdd-HHmmss.log)
-Verbose	Extra console output

A timestamp.txt file in the target directory limits runs to once per day unless -Force is used.

Supported applications

Active: 7-Zip, AutoRuns, BGInfo, Brave, Git, Notepad++, PowerToys, Process Explorer, Python, RustDesk, SumatraPDF, VLC, VS Code, VSCodium, Wireshark

Disabled (use -enableAll): Audacity Portable, Chrome, Firefox, GnuPG, GPG, Office, nVidia drivers, PowerShell Core, VMware Tools, WinDirStat Portable

Adding an application

Create .util\scripts\updateMyApp.ps1:

function main {
    $rest = Invoke-RestMethod "https://api.github.com/repos/owner/repo/releases/latest"
    $asset = $rest.assets | Where-Object { $_.Name -like "*pattern*" } | Select-Object -First 1
    if (-not $asset) { throw "No matching asset found" }
    return "My App", $asset.Name, "MyApp*.exe", $asset.browser_download_url
}
return main

Return values: display name, target filename, local search pattern, download URL. An optional fifth value is a PSCredential for authenticated downloads.

Move scripts to disabled\ to exclude them without deleting.

How it works

1. Load helpers from .util\
2. Run each update script in a background job to fetch version info
3. Compare against files already in -Path
4. Download updates in parallel via BITS (resume-capable, 30 min timeout per file)
5. Write timestamp.txt on success

Logs go to logs\ with levels INFO, WARNING, ERROR, SUCCESS, and DEBUG.

Requirements

• Windows PowerShell 5.1 (Desktop)
• BITS service running
• Internet access and write access to the target directory

Troubleshooting

• No updates / API errors: Check connectivity and review the latest log in logs\
• Download failures: Verify disk space, firewall, and BITS: Get-Service BITS
• Permission errors: Ensure write access to -Path; some installers may need an elevated shell

See LICENSE for license details.