Many years ago (I forget how many) I created a simple self extracting jar file.

Ive recently discovered a really good use for this which will be ready in a few weeks so I figured it was about time I released the original.

Download: TestInstaller.jar
In this compacted form it is only 4.9KB.

This download is basically a finished and ready to use installer, although it has no content. To give it some files to install you simply need to add them to the jar using any zip program. When you run it it will automatically extract the contents to the current directory.

To run the installer you can use the command java -jar TestInstaller.jar or on windows you should be able to double click it.

The installer has a few simple options which can be configured by editing the install.ini file.

Name=Test Installer  
Delete=False  
Debug=True  
Quiet=False

Name is displayed on the installer gui. Delete will tell it to delete itself after running. Debug makes it print a list of files and other information to the console. Quiet will run without showing the gui.

Note: Files in the META-INF or /uk/co/stealthware/installer folders will not be extracted.

This is a very simple way to make a quick installer for almost anything, so hopefully someone will find it useful. This is the original version with little in the way of error recovery or special features, I will most likely be creating an updated version soon.