Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops

Install using the command line

This article applies to installing components on machines with Windows operating systems. For information about VDAs for Linux operating systems, see Linux Virtual Delivery Agents.

This article describes how to issue product installation commands. Before beginning any installation, review Prepare to install. That article includes descriptions of the available installers.

To see command execution progress and return values, you must be the original administrator or use Run as administrator. For more information, see the Microsoft command documentation.

As a complement to using the installation commands directly, sample scripts are provided on the product ISO that install, upgrade, or remove VDA machines in Active Directory. For details, see Install VDAs using scripts.

If you attempt to install (or upgrade to) a Windows VDA on an OS that is not supported for this product version, a message guides you to information that describes your options. This information is also available in Earlier operating systems.

For information about how Citrix reports the result of component installations, see Citrix installation return codes.

Use the full-product installer

To access the full product installer’s command-line interface:

  1. Download the product package from Citrix. Citrix account credentials are required to access the download site.
  2. Unzip the file. Optionally, burn a DVD of the ISO file.
  3. Log on to the server where you are installing the components, using a local administrator account.
  4. Insert the DVD in the drive or mount the ISO file.
  5. From the \x64\XenDesktop Setup directory on the media, run the appropriate command.

To install core components: Run XenDesktopServerSetup.exe, with the options listed in Command-line options for installing core components.

To install StoreFront: Follow the guidance in To install StoreFront at a command prompt.

To install a VDA: Run XenDesktopVDASetup.exe with the options listed in Command-line options for installing a VDA.

To install the Universal Print Server: Follow the guidance in Command-line options for installing a Universal Print Server.

To install the Federated Authentication Service: Citrix recommends using the graphical interface.

To install the Self-Service Password Reset Service: Follow the guidance in Self-Service Password Reset Service.

To install Session Recording: Follow the guidance in Session Recording.

Command-line options for installing core components

The following options are valid when installing core components with the XenDesktopServerSetup.exe command. For more detail about options, see Install core components.

  • /components component [,component] …

    Comma-separated list of components to install or remove. Valid values are:

    • CONTROLLER: Controller
    • DESKTOPSTUDIO: Studio
    • DESKTOPDIRECTOR: Director
    • LICENSESERVER: Citrix License Server

    If this option is omitted, all components are installed (or removed, if the /remove option is also specified).

    (In releases before 1912 LTSR CU1, valid values included STOREFRONT. For version 1912 LTSR CU1 and later, use the dedicated StoreFront installation instructions noted in Use the full-product installer).

  • /configure_firewall

    Opens all ports in the Windows firewall used by the components being installed, if the Windows Firewall Service is running, even if the firewall is not enabled. If you are using a third-party firewall or no firewall, you must manually open the ports.

  • /disableexperiencemetrics

    Prevents automatic upload of analytics collected during installation, upgrade, or removal to Citrix.

  • /excludefeature”[,”feature”]

    Prevents installation of one or more comma-separated features, services, or technologies, each enclosed in straight quotation marks. Valid values are:

    • "Local Host Cache Storage (LocalDB)": Prevents installation of the database used for Local Host Cache. This option has no effect on whether SQL Server Express is installed for use as the Site database.
  • /help or /h

    Displays command help.

  • /ignore_hw_check_failure

    Allows the Delivery Controller installation or upgrade to continue, even if the hardware checks fail (for example, due to insufficient RAM). For more information, see Hardware check.

  • /ignore_site_test_failure

    Valid only during Controller upgrade. Any site test failures are ignored and the upgrade proceeds. If omitted (or set to false), any site test failure causes the installer to fail, without performing the upgrade. Default = false

  • /installdir directory

    Existing empty directory where components will be installed. Default = c:\Program Files\Citrix.

  • /logpath path

    Log file location. The specified folder must exist. The installer does not create it. Default = “%TEMP%\Citrix\XenDesktop Installer”

  • /no_pending_reboot_check

    When installing or upgrading core components, prevents checking for a pending restart from a previous Windows installation on the machine.

  • /no_remote_assistance

    Valid only when installing Director. Disables the user shadowing feature that uses Windows Remote Assistance.

  • /noreboot

    Prevents a restart after installation. (For most core components, a restart is not enabled by default.)

  • /nosql

    Prevents installation of Microsoft SQL Server Express on the server where you are installing the Controller. If this option is omitted, SQL Server Express is installed for use as the Site database. (This option has no effect on the installation of SQL Server Express LocalDB used for Local Host Cache.)

  • /quiet or /passive

    No user interface appears during the installation. The only evidence of the installation process is in Windows Task Manager. If this option is omitted, the graphical interface launches.

  • /remove

    Removes the core components specified with the /components option.

  • /removeall

    Removes all installed core components.

  • /sendexperiencemetrics

    Automatically sends analytics collected during the installation, upgrade, or removal to Citrix. If this option is omitted (or /disableexperiencemetrics is specified), the analytics are collected locally, but not sent automatically.

  • /tempdir directory

    Directory that holds temporary files during installation. Default = c:\Windows\Temp.

  • /xenapp

    Installs Citrix Virtual Apps. If this option is omitted, Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is installed.

Examples of installing core components

The following command installs a Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops Controller, Studio, Citrix Licensing, and SQL Server Express on a server. Firewall ports required for component communications are opened automatically.

\x64\XenDesktop Setup\XenDesktopServerSetup.exe /components controller,desktopstudio,licenseserver /configure_firewall

The following command installs a Citrix Virtual Apps Controller, Studio, and SQL Server Express on the server. Firewall ports required for component communication are opened automatically.

\x64\XenDesktop Setup\\XenDesktopServerSetup.exe /xenapp /components controller,desktopstudio /configure_firewall

Use a standalone VDA installer

Citrix account credentials are required to access the download site. You must either have elevated administrative privileges before starting the installation or use Run as administrator.

  1. Download the appropriate package from Citrix:
    • Multi-session OS Virtual Delivery Agent: VDAServerSetup.exe
    • Single-session OS Virtual Delivery Agent: VDAWorkstationSetup.exe
    • Single-session OS Core Services Virtual Delivery Agent: VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe
  2. Either extract the files from the package to an existing directory first and then run the installation command, or simply run the package.

    To extract the files before installing them, use /extract with the absolute path, for example .\VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe /extract %temp%\CitrixVDAInstallMedia. (The directory must exist. Otherwise, the extract fails.) Then in a separate command, run the appropriate command below, using the valid options listed in this article.

    • For VDAServerSetup_XXXX.exe, run <extract folder>\Extract\Image-Full\x64\XenDesktop Setup\XenDesktopVDASetup.exe
    • For VDAWorkstationCoreSetup_XXXX.exe, run <extract folder>\Extract\Image-Full\x64\XenDesktop Setup\XenDesktopRemotePCSetup.exe
    • For VDAWorkstationSetup_XXXX.exe, run <extract folder>\Extract\Image-Full\x64\XenDesktop Setup\XenDesktopVDASetup.exe

    To run the downloaded package, run its name: VDAServerSetup.exe, VDAWorkstationSetup.exe, or VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe. Use the valid options listed in this article.

If you are familiar with the full product installer:

  • Run the standalone VDAServerSetup.exe or VDAWorkstationSetup.exe installer as if it was the XenDesktopVdaSetup.exe command in everything except its name.

  • The VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer is different, because it supports a subset of the options available to the other installers.

Command-line options for installing a VDA

The following options are valid with one or more of the following commands (installers): XenDesktopVDASetup.exe, VDAServerSetup.exe, VDAWorkstationSetup.exe, or VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe.

For more detail about options, see Install VDAs.

  • /baseimage

    Valid only when installing a VDA for single-session OS on a VM. Enables the use of Personal vDisks with a master image. Personal vDisk is deprecated.

    This option is not valid when using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer.

  • /components component[,component]

    Comma-separated list of components to install or remove. Valid values are:

    • VDA: Virtual Delivery Agent
    • PLUGINS: Citrix Workspace app for Windows

    To install the VDA and Citrix Workspace app for Windows, specify /components vda plugins.

    If this option is omitted, only the VDA is installed (not Citrix Workspace app).

    This option is not valid when using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer. That installer cannot install Citrix Workspace app.

  • /controllerscontroller [controller]”

    Space-separated FQDNs of Controllers with which the VDA can communicate, enclosed in straight quotation marks. Do not specify both the /site_guid and /controllers options.

  • /disableexperiencemetrics

    Prevents the automatic upload of analytics collected during installation, upgrade, or removal to Citrix.

  • /enable_hdx_ports

    Opens ports in the Windows firewall required by the VDA and enabled features (except Windows Remote Assistance), if the Windows Firewall Service is detected, even if the firewall is not enabled. If you are using a different firewall or no firewall, you must configure the firewall manually. For port information, see Network ports.

    To open the UDP ports that HDX adaptive transport uses, specify the /enable_hdx_udp_ports option, in addition to the /enable_hdx_ports option.

  • /enable_hdx_udp_ports

    Opens UDP ports in the Windows firewall that HDX adaptive transport uses, if the Windows Firewall Service is detected, even if the firewall is not enabled. If you are using a different firewall or no firewall, you must configure the firewall manually. For port information, see Network ports.

    To open extra ports that the VDA uses, specify the /enable_hdx_ports option, in addition to the /enable_hdx_udp_ports option.

  • /enable_real_time_transport

    Enables or disables use of UDP for audio packets (RealTime Audio Transport for audio). Enabling this feature can improve audio performance. Include the /enable_hdx_ports option if you want the UDP ports opened automatically when the Windows Firewall Service is detected.

  • /enable_remote_assistance

    Enables the shadowing feature in Windows Remote Assistance for use with Director. If you specify this option, Windows Remote Assistance opens the dynamic ports in the firewall.

  • /excludecomponent”[,”component”]

    Prevents installation of one or more comma-separated optional components, each enclosed in straight quotation marks. For example, installing or upgrading a VDA on an image that is not managed by MCS does not require the Machine Identity Service component. Valid values are:

    • AppDisks VDA Plug-in
    • Personal vDisk
    • Machine Identity Service (includes TargetOSOptimizer.exe)
    • Citrix User Profile Manager
    • Citrix User Profile Manager WMI Plug-in
    • Citrix Universal Print Client
    • Citrix Telemetry Service
    • Citrix Personalization for App-V - VDA
    • Citrix Supportability Tools
    • Citrix Files for Windows
    • Citrix Files for Outlook
    • User Personalization Layer

    Excluding Citrix Profile Management from the installation (/exclude "Citrix User Profile Manager") affects monitoring and troubleshooting of VDAs with Citrix Director. On the User details and EndPoint pages, the Personalization panel and the Logon Duration panel fail. On the Dashboard and Trends pages, the Average Logon Duration panel displays data only for machines that have Profile Management installed.

    Even if you are using a third-party user profile management solution, Citrix recommends that you install and run the Citrix Profile Management Service. Enabling the Citrix Profile Management Service is not required.

    If you plan to use MCS to provision VMs, do not exclude the Machine Identity Service. Excluding that service also excludes installation of TargetOSOptimizer.exe.

    If you specify both /exclude and /includeadditional with the same additional component name, that component is not installed.

    This option is not valid when using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer. That installer automatically excludes many of these items.

  • /h or /help

    Displays command help.

  • /includeadditionalcomponent”[,”component”]

    Includes installation of one or more comma-separated optional components, each enclosed in straight quotation marks. The component names are case-sensitive. This option can be helpful when you are creating a Remote PC Access deployment, and want to install additional components that are not included by default. Valid values are:

    • Personal vDisk
    • Citrix User Profile Manager
    • Citrix User Profile Manager WMI Plug-in
    • Citrix Universal Print Client
    • Citrix Telemetry Service
    • Citrix Personalization for App-V - VDA
    • Citrix Supportability Tools
    • Citrix Files for Windows
    • Citrix Files for Outlook
    • User Personalization Layer

    If you specify both /exclude and /includeadditional with the same additional component name, that component is not installed.

    If you include both Personal vDisk and user personalization layer in the same command, only user personalization layer is installed.

  • /installdir directory

    Existing empty directory where components will be installed. Default = c:\Program Files\Citrix.

  • /install_mcsio_driver

    Enables MCS I/O write cache for storage optimization.

  • /logpath *path

    Log file location. The specified folder must exist. The installer does not create it. Default = “%TEMP%\Citrix\XenDesktop Installer”

    This option is not available in the graphical interface.

  • /masterimage

    Valid only when installing a VDA on a VM. Sets up the VDA as a master image. This option is equivalent to /mastermcsimage.

    This option is not valid when using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer.

  • /mastermcsimage

    Specifies that this machine will be used as a master image with Machine Creation Services. This option also installs TargetOSOptimizer.exe (unless you also specify /exclude "Machine Identity Service" which includes the optimizer installer). This option is equivalent to /masterimage.

  • /masterpvsimage

    Specifies that this machine will be used as a master image with either Citrix Provisioning or a third-party provisioning tool (such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager) to provision VMs.

  • /no_mediafoundation_ack

    Acknowledges that Microsoft Media Foundation is not installed, and several HDX multimedia features will not be installed and will not work. If this option is omitted and Media Foundation is not installed, the VDA installation fails. Most supported Windows editions come with Media Foundation already installed, except N editions.

  • /nodesktopexperience

    Valid only when installing a VDA for multi-session OS. Prevents enabling of the Enhanced Desktop Experience feature. This feature is also controlled with the Enhanced Desktop Experience Citrix policy setting.

  • /noreboot

    Prevents a restart after installation. The VDA cannot be used until after a restart.

  • /noresume

    By default, when a machine restart is needed during an installation, the installer resumes automatically after the restart completes. To override the default, specify /noresume. This can be helpful if you must re-mount the media or want to capture information during an automated installation.

  • /optimize

    When you use MCS and enable this feature (default), VM optimization disables offline files, disables background defragmentation, and reduces event log size. For details, see CTX224676.

    In addition to enabling this feature, optimization requires that the Machine Identity Service be installed. That service contains the TargetOSOptimizer.exe. The Machine Identity Service is installed automatically when you specify /mastermcsimage or /masterimage (and do not specify /exclude "Machine Identity Service").

    Do not specify this option for Remote PC Access deployments.

  • /portnumber port

    Valid only when the /reconfig option is specified. Port number to enable for communications between the VDA and the Controller. The previously configured port is disabled, unless it is port 80.

  • /quiet or /passive

    No user interface appears during the installation. The only evidence of the installation and configuration process is in Windows Task Manager. If this option is omitted, the graphical interface launches.

  • /reconfigure

    Customizes previously configured VDA settings when used with the /portnumber, /controllers, or /enable_hdx_ports options. If you specify this option without also specifying the /quiet option, the graphical interface for customizing the VDA launches.

  • /remotepc

    Valid only for Remote PC Access deployments (single-session OS) or brokered connections (multi-session OS). Excludes installation of the following components on a single-session OS:

    • Citrix Personalization for App-V
    • Citrix User Profile Manager
    • Citrix User Profile Manager WMI Plugin
    • Machine Identity Service (includes TargetOSOptimizer.exe)
    • Personal vDisk
    • Citrix Supportability Tools
    • Citrix Files for Windows
    • Citrix Files for Outlook
    • User personalization layer

    This option is not valid when using the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup.exe installer. That installer automatically excludes installation of these components.

  • /remove

    Removes the components specified with the /components option.

  • /removeall

    Removes all installed VDA components.

  • /sendexperiencemetrics

    Automatically sends analytics collected during the installation, upgrade, or removal to Citrix. If this option is omitted (or the /disableexperiencemetrics option is specified), analytics are collected locally, but not sent automatically.

  • /servervdi

    Installs a VDA for single-session OS on a supported Windows multi-session machine. Omit this option when installing a VDA for multi-session OS on a Windows multi-session machine. Before using this option, see Server VDI.

    This option should be used only with the full-product VDA installer. This option is not available in the graphical interface.

  • /site_guid guid

    Globally Unique Identifier of the site Active Directory Organizational Unit (OU). This associates a virtual desktop with a Site when you are using Active Directory for discovery (auto-update is the recommended and default discovery method). The site GUID is a site property displayed in Studio. Do not specify both the /site_guid and /controllers options.

  • /tempdir directory

    Directory to hold temporary files during installation. Default = c:\Windows\Temp.

    This option is not available in the graphical interface.

  • /virtualmachine

    Valid only when installing a VDA on a VM. Overrides detection by the installer of a physical machine, where BIOS information passed to VMs makes them appear as physical machines.

    This option is not available in the graphical interface.

Examples of installing a VDA

Install a VDA with the full-product installer:

The following command installs a VDA for single-session OS and Citrix Workspace app to the default location on a VM. This VDA will be used as a master image and use MCS to provision VMs. The VDA will register initially with the Controller on the server named Contr-Main in the domain mydomain. The VDA will use user personalization layer, optimization, and Windows Remote Assistance.

\x64\XenDesktop Setup\XenDesktopVdaSetup.exe /quiet /components vda,plugins /controllers "Contr-Main.mydomain.local" /enable_hdx_ports /includeadditional "User Personalization Layer" /optimize /mastermcsimage /enable_remote_assistance

Install a single-session OS VDA with the VDAWorkstationCoreSetup standalone installer:

The following command installs a Core Services VDA on a single-session OS for use in a Remote PC Access or VDI deployment. Citrix Workspace app and other non-core services are not installed. The address of a Controller is specified, and ports in the Windows Firewall Service will be opened automatically. The administrator will handle restarts.

VDAWorkstationCoreSetup .exe /quiet /controllers "Contr-East.domain.com" /enable_hdx_ports /noreboot

Customize a VDA

After you install a VDA, you can customize several settings. From the \x64\XenDesktop Setup directory on the product media, run XenDesktopVdaSetup.exe, using one or more of the following options, which are described in Command-line options for installing a VDA.

  • /reconfigure (required when customizing a VDA)
  • /h or /help
  • /quiet
  • /noreboot
  • /controllers
  • /portnumber port
  • /enable_hdx_ports

Command-line options for installing a Universal Print Server

The following option is valid with the XenDesktopPrintServerSetup.exe command.

  • /enable_upsserver_port
Software Folder File name
Microsoft Visual C++ 2017 Runtime, 32- and 64-bit Support > VcRedist_2017 vcredist_x64.exe and vcredist_x86.exe
Citrix Diagnostic Facility x64 > Virtual Desktop Components cdf_x64.msi
Universal Print Server server component x64 > Universal Print Server UpsServer_x64.msi

When this option is not specified, the installer displays the Firewall page from the graphical interface. Select Automatically to have the installer automatically add the Windows firewall rules, or Manually to let the administrator manually configure the firewall.

After installing the software on your print servers, configure the Universal Print Server using the guidance in Provision printers.