tenon 0.1.1

Tenon

A modern, readable installer toolkit for .NET desktop apps. One tenon.json in, a real Windows Installer package (.msi) plus a good-looking Setup.exe out. No WiX, no XML, no GUID bookkeeping, no maintenance fee.

Why

WiX is powerful but verbose, leaks every Windows Installer concept, has a dated UI that is nearly impossible to restyle, and since version 6 comes with a maintenance fee. Tenon keeps the MSI (IT departments, GPO, msiexec /qn) and hides the machinery behind a small, Inno-Setup-like JSON vocabulary and a WPF wizard that follows the Windows theme.

How to use

1. Install the tool

dotnet tool install -g tenon
tenon doctor

Requires Windows and the .NET 8 SDK. tenon doctor confirms the setup stub, the custom action DLL and optional tools are in place.

2. Describe your installer

Run tenon init next to your solution (it finds your WPF/WinForms project) or write tenon.json by hand:

{
  "$schema": "https://tenon.dev/schema/v1/tenon.schema.json",
  "build":   { "project": "src/ContosoNotes/ContosoNotes.csproj" },
  "product": { "name": "Contoso Notes", "publisher": "Contoso", "version": "$(AssemblyVersion)",
               "upgradeCode": "6F1B2C0E-9C53-4D8E-9A1E-3B2F0C1D9A77", "icon": "Assets/app.ico" },
  "install": { "scope": "either", "dir": "{autopf}\\Contoso\\Notes", "mainExe": "ContosoNotes.exe" },
  "files":     [ { "from": "{publish}\\**", "exclude": ["*.pdb"], "to": "{app}" } ],
  "shortcuts": [ { "name": "Contoso Notes", "target": "{app}\\ContosoNotes.exe", "in": "{group}" },
                 { "name": "Contoso Notes", "target": "{app}\\ContosoNotes.exe", "in": "{desktop}", "task": "desktopIcon" } ],
  "tasks":     [ { "id": "desktopIcon", "title": "Create a desktop shortcut", "default": true } ],
  "prerequisites": [ { "id": "dotnet-desktop", "version": "8.0" } ],
  "ui":        { "license": "LICENSE.rtf", "theme": { "accent": "#2563EB" } }
}

The $schema line gives you completion and inline documentation in Visual Studio and VS Code. Paths use constants such as {app}, {autopf}, {group} and {desktop}; the only GUID you ever write is the upgrade code.

3. Build

tenon build

Tenon publishes the project, harvests the output, checks the definition and writes two files into artifacts/installer:

Try it with tenon run, or silently with tenon run --quiet and tenon run --uninstall --quiet.

4. Ship updates

Change the version, run tenon build again and distribute the new Setup.exe. Installing it over an older version upgrades in place. To let the application update itself, add an update section, reference the Tenon.Update package and publish releases with tenon release --to <folder | github:owner/repo>. See docs/updates.md.

5. Add logic in C# (optional)

public sealed class MyHooks : ISetupHooks
{
    [SetupHook(HookStage.AfterInstall)]
    public void WriteConfig(SetupContext ctx)
        => File.WriteAllText(Path.Combine(ctx.InstallDir, "app.json"), $"{{ \"installDir\": \"{ctx.InstallDir}\" }}");
}

Reference the Tenon.Hooks package from a small class library, point hooks.project at it, and Tenon runs your methods during install, upgrade and uninstall on modern .NET. See docs/hooks.md.

6. Build in CI

dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 -p:BuildInstaller=true

with the Tenon.MSBuild package referenced by the application project, or call tenon build from the pipeline. Signing supports a certificate thumbprint, a PFX file or any command template (Azure Trusted Signing).

What you get

Documentation

• Getting started
• tenon.json reference
• Setup hooks in C#
• Auto-update
• CLI reference
• How it works
• Tenon vs WiX
• Status and roadmap

Samples

• samples/HelloWpf: the minimum, plus an in-app update check.
• samples/FullFeature: hooks, license page, tasks, file association, registry, environment variable, firewall rule, user-data cleanup.

Repository layout

Building from source

Windows with the .NET 8 SDK. The custom action DLL is NativeAOT and needs the MSVC toolchain (Visual Studio C++ workload).

dotnet build Tenon.sln
dotnet test Tenon.sln
./build/publish-assets.ps1     # setup stub, custom action DLL, hook host (win-x64)
./build/pack.ps1               # NuGet packages into artifacts/packages

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md first; it explains how the code is organized, how to run the tests and what a good change looks like.

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Liad Ben Moshe. Released under the MIT License.

Tenon uses the WiX Deployment Tools Foundation libraries (MS-RL, version 5.0.2) unmodified to talk to msi.dll and to build cabinets; see THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.