This one has been a LONG time coming, peeps. Trust me on this. This version includes a couple much-needed features.

The first feature is the ability for SIF-less to auto-update the configuration files via the app itself. This means that when I fix a bug in a template, or add a new feature to the installation scripts, you don’t have to download the app again. It’s a little thing, but is going to pave the way for some much cooler features in April. The auto update is relatively straightforward in how it works:

1. Pings Github for a manifest file.
2. Hashes the files on disk that correspond to the manifest.
3. If there’s a mismatch or a missing file, you’re given the option which to patch or update.
4. SIF-less updates those files.
5. Profit!

What’s it look like?

This feature runs at startup by default, but you can disable it by clicking the “Settings” menu. You can also run it manually via the “Update” menu.

The second big feature is the ability to run scripts via SIF-less itself, rather than having to launch a powershell window. Why is this cool? Well, for starters, this is the first part of a more robust application. Cop out answer, I know. Second, the output is segmented into different windows. You can see only errors, warnings, etc. in each stream. Next, it saves you some clicks. Who doesn’t want to get the same work done faster? Nobody, that’s who.

Anyway, how does this work?

Step 1: Do what you normally do. Except click the “Generate and Run” button, rather than “Generate Scripts”

Step 2: Save the file. You can still run this in normal PowerShell, too. If you want to.

Step 3: Choose your parameters. This window is ugly, not going to lie. But, it allows you to pass in switches into the script, as if you were passing them via the command line. Here’s a shot of the ugly window, with tooltip help from the SIF-less EZ file itself.

Step 4: Click “Run It” and away you go!

A couple quick things to note in this window:

1. A progress bar that follows along with SIF. This is the same type of progress you see when running via command line.
2. Timestamps. You can see which steps took the longest. (Looking at you, WDP installs)
3. You can see the multiple levels of tabs at the top. This is because the output is written to each tab as it happens. All Errors in one place, all Warnings in another, etc. If you want the tab that has it all, check out the cleverly named “All Ouput” tab.

There’s one more feature that bears mentioning. It’s the “Run External Script” button. This one loads a PS1 directly into the Run Window, which is super useful for running SIF-less EZ PS1s, but that’s about it. Don’t try to run other stuff in there. I can’t guarantee it won’t explode. It’s a bit experimental, and the warnings you see when you click it are there on purpose. It should work, though. If it doesn’t, drop a comment.

Special shout out to the peeps in Sitecore Slack. If you’re not on community slack, you’re missing out quite a bit. Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1bAVDgP5-FhFh8ohPchHtifq-rz7EBkuPojAzdEofJyo/viewform?edit_requested=true

As always, you can download the

Patch notes are out on the GitHub repo: https://github.com/RAhnemann/sif-less

You can always download directly here: https://rockpapersitecore.com/wp-content/uploads/sifless.zip