Updated 2017-10-11 05:43:08 by clemp

InstallJammer is a multi-platform GUI installer written in Tcl/Tk and designed to work on Windows, OS X and virtually any flavor of UNIX / Linux. OS X is not currently supported but is slated for later release.

As of 2017: Current release is 1.2.15, 29 April 2013.

It features:

  • A full-featured install builder.
  • Installs are packaged in single binary executables for each platform making web distribution easy.
  • Features specific to Tcl/Tk software and programs.
  • Support for multiple install themes.
  • Default install themes that resemble popular, commercial installers.
  • A high level of configurability. Install panes can actually be modified right down to the Tcl/Tk code.
  • Built-in support for Windows install conventions.
  • Automatic creation of an uninstaller.
  • Currently supported platforms are Windows and Linux.

Mailing List:

mailto:installjammer-devel@lists.sourceforge.net (used for development)

mailto:announce@installjammer.com (used only for announcing new releases)

Downloads are available on SourceForge at:

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=148203

Documentation is online at:

http://www.installjammer.com/docs/

[ Location: http://www.installjammer.com/ | Author: Damon Courtney ]

Kevin Walzer InstallJammer is a very nice tool, with a shallow learning curve. As far as I know, it is unique among open-source install tools in supporting both Windows and Linux.

APN Windows Inspection Tool Set is planning on using InstallJammer. I checked out other open source installers as well - WiX[1], INNO[2] and NSIS[3] (I'm only interested in Windows). WiX was the only other one in serious contention. It is more tightly integrated with Windows (no surprise given it comes from Microsoft) and has a lot of ongoing support and a large user community. I went with InstallJammer because (a) it is much easier to get started with, (b) is Tcl based, and (c) all other things being equal, might as well pick a cross-platform tool. As Kevin said, it is a very nice tool.

Summer 2006: "the german linux magazine had an article about installers for linux featuring InstallJammer, and quoted it as 'first of its breed' at least for the open source sector, there seem to be some commercial offerings . . . they mention two commercial alternatives Bitrock installer[4] and Plaasoft installer[5]"

The article is in Issue 08/2006 p.126-128.

MAKR notes on 2009-02-11: Plaasoft is no longer, that link leads to a different company, now.

MAKR 2009-02-11: am I missing something or is there neither a hint to the developers, nor to its license? I mean, know that DC is doing most (all?) of it, but no name or company is mentioned on the home page. For considering this tool, I would like to know the license before I download the package.

DC 2009-02-11: There really isn't a company behind it, it's just me. I could create a company to impress people, but it would still be just me. 0-] I need to add a license link to the home page information somewhere, but basically InstallJammer is GPL with an exception provided to installers built with it. If you click the link for online documentation you'll find the license in the docs.

MAKR 2009-02-12: Thanks for clarification. I have indeed overlooked the link in the documentation. BTW, I am not asking you to create a company ;-) ... I just had the impression that there is one behind it as we both talked on the Fourteenth Annual Tcl/Tk Conference (2007) about it.

schlenk 2011-10-18: It seems Damon (sadly) discontinued the development of InstallJammer in August 2011. EF This is really a shame, InstallJammer was a fine piece of software and I've used it in a number of projects. Would there be anyone ready to take over after Damon?