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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions and answers about SwitchCraft.

General

What is SwitchCraft?

SwitchCraft is a comprehensive packaging assistant for IT professionals. It analyzes installers (MSI, EXE) to find silent installation switches, creates Intune packages, and integrates with Winget and Microsoft Graph API.

Is SwitchCraft free?

Yes! SwitchCraft is open source under the MIT License. You can use it freely in personal and commercial environments.

Which platforms are supported?

SwitchCraft is primarily designed for Windows. While the Modern UI (Flet) can run on macOS and Linux, core features like Intune packaging and Winget require Windows.

Feature Windows macOS/Linux
Modern UI ✅ ✅
Installer Analysis ✅ ⚠️ Basic
Intune Packaging ✅ ❌
Winget Store ✅ ❌

Installation & Setup

Which edition should I use?

  • Modern (Flet): Recommended for most users. Latest features, modern UI.
  • Legacy (Tkinter): For older hardware or if you prefer a traditional interface.
  • CLI: For automation, scripting, and CI/CD pipelines.

How do I update SwitchCraft?

  • Installer version: Check for updates in Settings or download the latest release.
  • Winget: Run winget upgrade FaserF.SwitchCraft
  • Portable: Download the new version and replace the old executable.

Why does Windows Defender flag SwitchCraft?

SwitchCraft's analysis features (reading PE headers, spawning processes) can trigger heuristic-based detection. This is a false positive. You can:

  1. Add an exclusion for SwitchCraft.exe
  2. Verify the file hash against the GitHub release
  3. Build from source yourself

Analysis & Packaging

What installer types are supported?

SwitchCraft detects 20+ installer frameworks including:

  • MSI (Windows Installer)
  • NSIS, Inno Setup, InstallShield
  • WiX Burn Bundles
  • Vendor-specific (HP, Dell, Lenovo, Intel, NVIDIA)

What's the difference between Modern and Legacy editions?

Feature Modern Legacy
UI Framework Flet (Flutter) Tkinter
Intune Store Browser ✅ ❌
Group Manager ✅ ❌
Stack Manager ✅ ❌
Detection Tester ✅ ❌
WingetCreate Manager ✅ ❌
macOS Wizard ✅ ❌
Notification Center ✅ ⚠️ Basic
Loading Screen ✅ Enhanced ✅ Basic
Resource Usage Higher Lower
Recommended For Most users Old hardware

How do I switch between languages?

In Settings → General, select your preferred language (English or German). The change takes effect immediately without restarting the application.

What permissions do I need for Group Manager?

The Group Manager requires additional Microsoft Graph API permissions beyond the standard Intune permissions:

  • Group.Read.All or Group.ReadWrite.All - To view and manage groups
  • User.Read.All - To search for users
  • GroupMember.ReadWrite.All - To add/remove group members

These must be granted by an Azure AD administrator. See Intune Setup Guide for details.

See Features for the complete list.

Why can't SwitchCraft find silent switches?

Some installers intentionally disable silent installation. SwitchCraft detects this and shows a warning. Options:

  1. Contact the vendor for enterprise deployment options
  2. Use a wrapper/transform if supported
  3. Consider repackaging with tools like PSADT

What is "Brute Force" analysis?

When no installer type is detected, SwitchCraft runs the executable with common help arguments (/?, --help, -h, etc.) and analyzes the output for switch patterns.

Intune Integration

What permissions does the Azure app need?

Minimum required: DeviceManagementApps.ReadWrite.All

This allows SwitchCraft to:

  • Upload Win32 apps
  • Create detection rules
  • Assign apps to groups

For Group Manager (optional), you also need:

  • Group.Read.All or Group.ReadWrite.All
  • User.Read.All
  • GroupMember.ReadWrite.All

Is the Client Secret stored securely?

Yes. SwitchCraft uses the Windows Credential Manager to encrypt and store credentials. They are never stored in plain text or in the Registry.

Why does Intune upload fail?

Common causes:

  1. Invalid credentials: Verify Tenant ID, Client ID, and Secret
  2. Expired secret: Azure app secrets expire. Generate a new one.
  3. Conditional Access: Ensure the service principal isn't blocked
  4. Network: Check firewall/proxy settings for Graph API access

Winget

How do I enable Winget integration?

Go to Settings > General > Enable Winget Integration.

Can I deploy Winget apps to Intune?

Yes! SwitchCraft can generate PowerShell scripts that use Winget on the target device. This provides:

  • Always up-to-date installations
  • Simplified maintenance
  • No need to repackage on each update

Troubleshooting

SwitchCraft won't start

  1. Check Windows version: Requires Windows 10 1809+
  2. Install Visual C++ Redistributable: Download
  3. Try portable version: Isolates the issue from installation problems
  4. Run as Administrator: Some features require elevation

Analysis takes too long

  • Large files with many nested installers take longer
  • Try disabling "Extract and analyze nested files" in Settings
  • Ensure 7-Zip is installed for faster extraction

How do I get logs?

  1. Enable Debug Mode in Settings > Advanced.
  2. Reproduce the issue.
  3. Logs are saved to %APPDATA%\FaserF\SwitchCraft\Logs\ on Windows, or ~/.switchcraft/Logs/ on Linux/macOS.
  4. If the app crashes at startup, it automatically generates a Crash Dump in the same folder.
  5. In the Modern UI crash screen, you can click "Copy Path" or "Open Folder" to quickly find the log.
  6. Open an issue with the log attached.

Data Management

Where does SwitchCraft store my data?

SwitchCraft is designed to be as clean as possible. It stores data in:

  • Registry: User settings and preferences.
  • AppData: History and logs.
  • Keyring: API keys and secrets (encrypted via system).
  • Home Directory: Addons and custom extensions.

See the Installation Guide for the full list of paths.

What does "Factory Reset" do?

The Factory Reset option in Settings is a total wipe of SwitchCraft data. It will:

  1. Delete all Registry keys in HKCU\Software\FaserF\SwitchCraft.
  2. Purge all secrets and API keys from the system keyring.
  3. Delete the history and logs folder.
  4. Delete all installed addons.

After a Factory Reset, the next launch will feel like a fresh installation.

Contributing

How can I contribute?

See the Building guide for development setup. We welcome:

  • Bug reports and feature requests
  • Code contributions via Pull Requests
  • Documentation improvements
  • Translations

Where do I report bugs?

Open an issue on GitHub. Include:

  • SwitchCraft version
  • Windows version
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Relevant logs or screenshots