UnigetUI portable still creates a directory outside the app directory and registry entries as well

[PaduaPlay]

Please confirm these before moving forward.

• I have searched for my feature proposal and have not found a work-in-progress/duplicate/resolved/discarded issue.
• This improvement refers to an existing feature. If you want to suggest a new feature, please use this template.
• This improvement is not a bug. If you want to report a bug, please use this template.

Describe the improvement

First, thanks for a good software app updater, based on well known package installers.

Also, thanks for making a 'portable' version, not needing an install.

However, the 'portable' version creates folder and registry entries.

If they can be avoided, will make this app fully portable with zero footprint outside its app directory.

• Folders created at C:\Users\ *** \AppData\Local\UniGetUI\
  (whatever data needs to be stored here by UniGetUI, can be stored in the app directory itself?)

• Multiple registry entries (which may not be UniGetUi's doing directly, but Windows keeping track of which app is run).

Thanks for considering.

Describe how this improvement could help users

Can make this app fully portable, with zero footprint outside its app directory.

[Kobi-Blade]

The zip package is not portable by default, an issue that was already raised in the past.

You need to create a file named ForceUniGetUIPortable next to UniGetUI.exe.

There is also another known issue where UniGetUI forcely performs Pinget tasks outside portable folder (even if you don't use Pinget) #4800

[PaduaPlay]

Thank you for the response.

Had downloaded the UniGetUI.zip and just copied that to UniGetUI directory.
(Would have been nice if this ForceUniGetUIPortable empty file was already included with that .zip file.)

Also, a search for 'portable' in issues (open or closed) did not show this ForceUniGetUIPortable empty file option, in at least the first two pages. Did not read the post made, on Jan 2025, regarding the ForceUniGetUIPortable empty file. Apologies.

Tried with the ForceUniGetUIPortable empty file.

Tried the install version as well the portable install.

There is still a directory created at C:\Users\ *** \AppData\Local\Temp\UniGetUI\ which does not get deleted even after completely exiting the app. It is just a 1 MB folder with a session.log, but still it is unintended behavior for a portable app?

[Kobi-Blade]

The developers have kept ForceUniGetUIPortable completely undocumented, I found it by digging directly into the source code.

You are 100% right that a true portable app must be self-contained. Dumping log files into the host %TEMP% folder and storing configuration data (PinGet) inside %APPDATA% completely defeats the purpose of running in portable mode.

[PaduaPlay]

Hopefully some of the core team will read this and release an update:

• with ForceUniGetUIPortable included in the UniGetUI.zip version.
• Using only the app directory to store all the data it needs.
• Avoiding usage of / writing to any other directory or the registry.

Of course, the developers will know best, but, since 'ForceUniGetUIPortable' is already implemented, the above seem easy fixes.

[GabrielDuf]

Hi,

I just added a new documentation page for portable mode and ForceUniGetUIPortable. That was my bad, I didn’t keep the documentation up to date.

For the other issues with portable mode, I’ll take a look and see what can be improved for the next release. I’ll post an update here when I have more info.

[GabrielDuf]

the new documentation : https://github.com/Devolutions/UniGetUI/blob/main/docs/PORTABLE.md

[PaduaPlay]

the new documentation : https://github.com/Devolutions/UniGetUI/blob/main/docs/PORTABLE.md

Thanks for considering the request for fine tuning the portable mode.

Please consider including these, mentioned in the portable mode documentation, as well, as folders to be written in the app directory itself.

From the documentation..

• Stored secrets, Windows
  Credential Manager
  Credential Manager (not relocated)

• Default package- backup folder
  Documents\UniGetUI
  Documents\UniGetUI (not relocated)
  (The documentation does refer to an option in Backup settings page to make this portable.)