Package Script Writer (psw)

Generate and run Umbraco CMS installation scripts using the psw CLI tool.

Workflow

1. Check if PSW CLI is installed:

   psw --version
   

   If command not found, the .NET tools path may not be in PATH. Try:

   • Linux/Mac: export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet/tools" && psw --version
   • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.dotnet\tools\psw --version

2. If not installed, install it:

   dotnet tool install --global PackageScriptWriter.Cli
   

3. Then run the psw command (see below)

Non-Interactive Usage (Claude Code)

This is the command to use:

export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.dotnet/tools"
psw -d -n ProjectName -s ProjectName -u --database-type SQLite --admin-email admin@test.com --admin-password SecurePass1234 --auto-run

Run this with run_in_background: true since Umbraco is a long-running web server.

Critical flags:

• -d - REQUIRED - generates the full installation script (without this, only dotnet run is generated which fails)
• -u - use unattended install defaults
• --auto-run - execute the script immediately
• Never combine -o with --auto-run (truncates the script)

Default credentials: admin@test.com / SecurePass1234

With Packages

psw -d -n ProjectName -s ProjectName -u --database-type SQLite --admin-email admin@test.com --admin-password "SecurePass1234" -p "uSync,Umbraco.Forms" --auto-run

With specific versions:

psw -d -n ProjectName -s ProjectName -u --database-type SQLite --admin-email admin@test.com --admin-password "SecurePass1234" -p "uSync|17.0.0,Umbraco.Forms|17.0.1" --auto-run

IMPORTANT

Do not use characters that are escapable in passwords or usernames

Key Options

Flag	Description
-d, --default	REQUIRED - generates full installation script
-n, --project-name	Project name
-s, --solution	Solution name
-u, --unattended-defaults	Use unattended install defaults
--database-type	SQLite, LocalDb, SQLServer, SQLAzure, SQLCE
--admin-email	Admin email for unattended install
--admin-password	Admin password for unattended install
--auto-run	Execute the generated script
-p, --packages	Comma-separated packages (e.g., "uSync,Umbraco.Forms")
-t, --template-package	Umbraco template with optional version
-da, --delivery-api	Enable Content Delivery API

Waiting for Umbraco to Start

After running the command in background, poll for readiness:

# Check the output for the port number (e.g., "Now listening on: https://localhost:44356")
# Then poll until ready:
for i in {1..30}; do
  if nc -z localhost 44356 2>/dev/null; then
    echo "Umbraco is ready!"
    break
  fi
  sleep 2
done

Other Commands

psw versions              # Show Umbraco versions with support status
psw history list          # Show recent scripts
psw history rerun 1       # Re-run script #1
psw --clear-cache         # Clear cached API responses