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I'm trying to figure out what would be the easiest way to create an Installer using Wix Toolset.

I'm building my app in Python and then creating an installer using PyInstaller as a One Folder (not one file) and then want to package it into .msi file. I saw elsewhere that I have to use heat.exe to create a list of all the files, but when I did that I got like 15,000 lines xml file that lists every single file. Not sure if that's the optimal solution or then could be some other way of properly packaging it.

Maksim
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  • Could you clarify, what is the problem with 15,000 lines xml file (if it is auto-generated)? You can probably optimize it a bit (using -sfrag -suid) to reduce the number of lines. Anyway, installing pyinstaller using MSI instead of PIP sounds like a strange idea - why do you need this? – Nikolay Jan 20 '23 at 09:12
  • Your question does not mention how Python or PyInstaller are involved in this. Why are they tagged? – sinoroc Jan 20 '23 at 11:48
  • Clarified why I tagged Python and PyInstaller. Because that's what I'm using to build binaries – Maksim Jan 23 '23 at 18:47

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You can start by using auto-py-to-exe to convert your project into an exe file:

pip install auto-py-to-exe

A .py to .exe converter using a simple graphical interface and PyInstaller in Python.

Here is a demo :

After this you can use any tool to generate the *.msi file such as Wix Toolset or Advanced Installer or other.

Mohamed Chaawa
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  • The question was regarding Wix Toolset and how Wix can be used to create .msi file using PyInstaller's Folder output. – Maksim Jan 27 '23 at 20:22