Step 7: Run the CLI Workflow (Elevated PowerShell 7)

Run the generated package, the ZIP bundle from Step 6: Review and Download, to install the Environment. The entry point is Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe, a .NET 10 based installer. On Windows Server, it:

• creates or updates the Configuration Database with SqlPackage;
• creates one IIS web site, with its own port, for each Core Service;
• finds the TLS certificate by subject in LocalMachine\WebHosting or LocalMachine\My and binds it (Step 4: Servers);
• installs or updates the selected Monitoring Agents and Log Agents.

It creates no Log Database; the Logging Service creates the first one on its first start. You run the same workflow for every update.

Before You Start

• Complete the Prerequisites on every server, including the Logon as a Service right for the service identities, DCOM Local Activation for the Monitoring Service (Monitoring Service prerequisites), and a configured MSDTC.
• Extract the ZIP bundle and keep the folder structure intact.
• Open PowerShell 7 as administrator, signed in as a user who is a local administrator on the server.
• Run all commands from the bundle root folder.

Tip

• The CLI runs as the user of the elevated PowerShell 7 prompt.
• That user needs SQL Server sysadmin rights on the affected SQL Server instances, unless you use Azure SQL Managed Instance.

Review the SQL Server Sysadmin Requirements before you run the CLI workflow.

ZIP bundle content

After extraction, the root contains:

• InstallationMedia
• one folder per server, for example nodinitesrv01
• Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe

Each server folder holds the generated config.cli.json that the CLI reads, and a readme.txt with the commands for that server.

Example of the extracted ZIP bundle root with InstallationMedia, a server folder, and Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe.

You don't need to unblock the ZIP bundle or its contents: the installer is signed with Microsoft Authenticode; see Code Signing and Binary Integrity.

Review bundle files before execution

Before you run the installation commands:

• Review the config.cli.json values for paths, ports, and selected agents.
• Verify the SqlPackage and ZIP-related paths if placeholders are still present.
• Keep the extracted structure unchanged, so that media paths resolve.

CLI help and discovery

Use the CLI help to list the commands and their options:

.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe --version
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe install --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe deploy-environment --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe install-agent --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe uninstall --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe uninstall-agent --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe teardown-environment --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe validate --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe status --help
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe diagnose --help

Recommended workflow

1. Validate the package without changing the machine.
2. Run a dry run to check the install or update actions.
3. Deploy when validation and the dry run are clean.

.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe validate --config .\nodinitesrv01\config.cli.json
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe deploy-environment --config ".\nodinitesrv01\config.cli.json" --dry-run
.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe deploy-environment --config ".\nodinitesrv01\config.cli.json"

Diagram: the checks (blue) run before any change; deploy-environment (orange) stops at the Configuration Database backup gate (yellow) when no verified backup exists; errors and an abort (red) leave the machine unchanged; the run ends with the verification of the Core Services (green).

Example of installation progress output while the CLI configures the Environment.

Config DB backup confirmation prompt

During deploy-environment, if the Configuration Database has no verified backup, the CLI asks for your intent before it applies schema changes:

• Back up now: the installer tries to create a verified backup and then continues.
• Continue: proceed, because you already have a verified backup.
• Abort install: stop without applying changes.

Example of the CLI safety prompt shown when a database upgrade is pending and a backup confirmation is required.

Use this prompt as an explicit safety gate in production environments.

Passing arguments when needed

You can provide secrets and connection strings in the config values, as command arguments, as environment variables, or at the CLI prompts.

Common runtime overrides:

• --database-connection-string <ConnectionString>: the Configuration Database connection string, when Step 3 is set to provide it at run time
• --agent-connection-string AgentType=ConnectionString: an Agent Database connection string
• --agent-connection-string AgentType#Id=ConnectionString: the same, for duplicate agent types
• --service-password <Password>: the service account password; gMSA accounts need none
• --oauth2-webclient-secret <Secret> and --oauth2-agentinstall-secret <Secret>: the OAuth client secrets, which the Portal doesn't store (Step 2: Auth)

For prompt-required database values, you can also use environment variables:

• NODINITE_DATABASE_CONNECTION_STRING
• NODINITE_AGENT_<TYPE>_CONNECTION_STRING

Common CLI commands

Validate the configuration file and write a JSON report:

.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe validate --config .\nodinitesrv01\config.cli.json --strict-file-locks --output report.json --format json

The install commands differ in scope. Each one installs what's missing and updates what's there:

The README.txt at the root of the bundle lists the workflow for your package. To run install unattended:

.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe install --config .\nodinitesrv01\config.cli.json --non-interactive

--non-interactive disables every prompt, so supply all service passwords, OAuth2 secrets, and connection strings up front; a missing value aborts the run. On an upgrade from v6, it also aborts at the "stop the Nodinite 6 Logging/Monitoring services" step, which needs an operator to acknowledge it.

Install one agent:

.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe install-agent --config .\nodinitesrv01\config.cli.json --agent AzureLogicApps

Proxy overrides

To change the proxy behavior from Step 3 for one run, pass proxy options on the installer commands:

• --proxy-mode <system|none|manual>
• --proxy-url <Url>
• --proxy-use-default-credentials or --proxy-no-default-credentials
• --proxy-bypass-local or --proxy-no-bypass-local
• --proxy-bypass <Pattern>

Verify the installation

Use the ports from Allocated ports. Then continue with the Post Installation Steps.

Important behavior notes

• uninstall removes the Core Services only.
• teardown-environment removes the agents first, then the Core Services; see Uninstall Nodinite v7.
• gMSA accounts don't need passwords.

Troubleshooting

Run with --verbose for deeper diagnostics:

.\Nodinite.Installer.Cli.exe deploy-environment --config .\nodinitesrv01\config.cli.json --verbose

When the CLI reports file locks, see File Locks Detected. For a deeper failure analysis, continue with Complete Installation Troubleshooting Guide and the Troubleshooting Overview.

Next Steps

• Post Installation Steps
• Return to Install Nodinite v7

Related Topics

• Step 6: Review and Download
• Complete Installation Troubleshooting Guide
• Update Nodinite v7
• Uninstall Nodinite v7
• SQL Server Sysadmin Requirements
• Code Signing and Binary Integrity
• OAuth2 client secrets (Install Nodinite v7 - OpenID)
• Troubleshooting OAuth 2.0 Validation Failures (Error 10.3 / 10.4)
• Step 4: Deploy Core Services with CLI – v6 to v7 migration