Test Package
TestPackage v3 is a configurable Windows installation simulator. It generates realistic setup programs that exercise the exact installer behaviors your packaging tools need to handle — so you can test your workflow, not someone else's app. Now available on the Microsoft Store, via winget, or as a signed direct download from GitHub.
Get TestPackage
winget
Windows Package Manager, one command:
winget install RWKSystems.TestPackageThe Problem
Packaging engineers need test installers. Most reach for whatever's handy — 7-Zip, Notepad++, VLC — but production apps make poor test subjects. They exercise a narrow, fixed set of installer behaviors. They can't be reconfigured. And when something breaks, it's hard to tell whether the failure is in your tooling or in the app itself.
The Solution
TestPackage Configurator lets you design a simulated installer from scratch. Toggle on exactly the Windows installer behaviors you need to test, click Generate Installer, and get a standalone setup EXE ready for your packaging tool to capture.
Every generated installer behaves like real software: it runs a multi-page wizard, creates files, writes registry entries, registers shortcuts, installs services — whatever you configured. When it finishes, it drops a lightweight audit viewer that shows every action the installer took and provides a clean uninstall.
One tool. Any combination of behaviors. Repeatable.
What's New in v3
TestPackage v3 is a full redesign of the Configurator based on months of feedback from packaging engineers using v2 in the field.
Single-screen Configurator
The 7-tab layout is gone. Identity, wizard, install actions, uninstall, appearance and package settings all live on one scrollable canvas, with a live "receipt" rail on the right that updates as you edit — behaviors enabled, installer size, elevation, install directory, and a one-line description of what your generated installer will do.
Presets
Start from a blank slate or from one of four ready-made scenarios — Blank, Typical desktop app, Service + firewall, or Enterprise. A preset replaces the install-action behaviors and their sample data while leaving your app identity, wizard pages and uninstall settings alone, so it's safe to try one mid-session.
Composite editors
Registry entries, environment variables, firewall rules, file associations, context menu entries, protocol handlers and test files each get a proper master-list-plus-detail-form overlay. Add, edit, remove, and see the sample data update in the receipt rail live — no more editing pipe-separated fields by hand.
Configurable installer size
Pad the generated setup EXE up to 100 GB with a non-linear slider plus exact MB entry, to test how repackaging and virtualization tools handle large installers. At install time the wizard verifies the target drive has enough free space and refuses to proceed if not.
Code-signing option
Sign the generated installer with your own certificate. Choose the "PFX" mode, point at a .pfx file, and TestPackage runs signtool.exe (or PowerShell Set-AuthenticodeSignature as a fallback) after generating the installer. Leave the mode as "None" to ship it unsigned — useful for reproducibility tests where a signature would change per build.
Elevation by default
New installers request administrator privileges by default, matching the reality of Program Files and HKLM writes. Uncheck "Require Administrator" for user-scope test installers.
Auto-derived defaults
Default install path and Start Menu folder follow <Publisher>\<AppName> live as you type. Type your own to opt out; clear the field to re-derive.
Everything from v2 still works
Silent install with command-line overrides (/S, /D=, /context=, /components=), configurable app metadata, custom EULA text, banner and accent colors, and a full JSON install manifest for machine-readable audit trails.
Existing v2 configuration files load unchanged in v3 — nothing in the config schema was removed.
How It Works
Configure
Open TestPackage Configurator and design your test scenario. Every option has a clear description, and changes take effect immediately — no code, no command line, no rebuilding.
Choose from 16+ independently toggleable installer behaviors:
| Category | Features |
|---|---|
| Files & Registry | Test files in configurable paths, registry entries (HKCU/HKLM/HKCR), environment variables |
| Shortcuts & Shell | Desktop shortcuts, Start Menu entries, file associations, context menus, App Paths |
| Services & Tasks | Windows services, scheduled tasks, startup entries |
| Network & Security | Firewall rules, custom URI protocol handlers |
| System Integration | Active Setup, font installation, COM registration |
| Scale & Prerequisites | Configurable installer size up to 100 GB with a target-drive free-space check |
| Uninstall Behavior | Clean removal, or intentional leftovers for testing incomplete-uninstall detection |
| Wizard & UI | Show/hide wizard pages, custom EULA text, banner colors, simulated install delay |
| Distribution | Optional code-signing of the generated installer with your own PFX |
Name your output files whatever you want. Defaults are a dated TestPackage_DDMMMYY.exe and TestSetupAuditViewer.exe.
Generate
Click Generate Installer. TestPackage produces a ready-to-use installer in your chosen output folder, signs it if you asked, and opens the folder for you. Point your packaging tool at it — MSIX, App-V, Intune, SCCM, or anything else that captures or wraps Windows installers.
Test
Run the generated installer through your workflow:
- Repackaging — capture the install, build your package, deploy, and verify with the built-in audit viewer.
- Application virtualization — capture with your virtualization tool, run the virtual package, verify file and registry isolation.
- Silent deployment — test silent install switches, per-user vs. per-machine contexts, and UAC elevation handling.
- Uninstall validation — verify clean removal, or enable intentional leftovers to test your tool's orphan detection.
- Large-payload handling — set an installer size in the hundreds of MB or GB range and stress-test how your pipeline moves it around.
After installation, the audit viewer displays every action the installer took: files created, registry entries written, shortcuts placed, services installed. A machine-readable install-manifest.json and a human-readable description.txt provide full audit trails.
Iterate
Change the configuration and generate again. Need to add a service? Toggle it on. Need to test a reboot prompt? Enable it. Each new scenario is one click away.
Technical Details
- .NET 8 / C# / WPF — runtime bundled in the installer
- Zero external dependencies at runtime
- INI-based configuration; v2 configs load unchanged
- JSON install manifest for machine-readable audit trails
- NSIS-based tool installer
- Signed with Azure Trusted Signing
- See the LICENSE for details
Release Notes
Full release notes for v3.0.0 and every previous release live on the GitHub Releases page.