---
title: "Installer Properties"
canonical: "https://wiki.yellowfinbi.com/space/yfcurrent/2202602/Installer%20Properties"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (anchor)



> Macro (toc)

## Overview


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> [Installer Properties#top](https://yellowfin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/yfcurrent/pages/2202602/Installer+Properties#InstallerProperties-top)

Installer properties are the key to customising the Yellowfin installer. Different properties are used to make different changes to the installer, including:


1. Providing initial values for user options
2. Changing the installer’s look-and-feel
3. Changing the installer’s behaviour
4. Changing the configuration of the Yellowfin installation

Values for installer properties can be provided in different ways.

### Sections

The Installer Properties are grouped into the following pages:

1. [User Options](https://yellowfin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/yfcurrent/pages/2209808),
2. [Installer Look-And-Feel](https://yellowfin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/yfcurrent/pages/2200123),
3. [Installer Behaviour](https://yellowfin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/yfcurrent/pages/2200120),
4. [Yellowfin Configuration](https://yellowfin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/yfcurrent/pages/2196702), and
5. [Appendix - All Installer Properties List](https://yellowfin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/yfcurrent/pages/2209731)

## Providing Values for Installer Properties

Values for installer properties can be set in different ways. In order of precedence, these are:


1. Default options provided by the installer where appropriate
2. Custom properties file bundled with the installer
3. Silent installer properties file (silent installation only)
4. Command-line arguments provided to the installer
5. Options entered by the user during the installation (graphical and command-line installation)

For example, a property value specified on the command line will override a value set for the same property in the custom properties file.

The silent installer does not display a user interface. Therefore all user options must be provided through the properties files or command-line arguments.

## Custom Properties File

The custom properties file is the main way to customise the installer. You can add properties to this file that modify the way the installer looks and behaves. This file is a java properties file named `custom.properties` that is added to the root of the installer archive (see [Adding Files to the Installer](https://yellowfin.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/yfcurrent/pages/2200714)).


This file is used to provide standard default values for installation options, override text displayed during installation, specify the location of images used to override the default images used by the installer, modify the installer behaviour and provide initial configuration values for the Yellowfin installation. Options in the custom properties file will be overridden if a value for the same property is provided as a command-line argument to the installer, and user options can be overridden during the installation process when using the graphical or command-line installer.

The custom properties file is a series of key-value pairs of the form “key=value” on separate lines. Blank lines are ignored, and a line starting with a # is treated as a comment.

## Command-line Arguments

Installer properties may be provided as command-line arguments when running the installer. The general usage is:


```
java -jar yellowfin-yyyymmdd-full.jar [-cmd|-gui] [property ...]
java -jar yellowfin-yyyymmdd-full.jar -silent [silentpropertiesfile [property ...]]

```

Properties are specified using:  
`key=value` or `-key=value`

For example:

```
java -jar yellowfin-yyyymmdd-full.jar option.serverport=80 option.winservice=true

```

## Silent Installer Properties File

An additional properties file may be specified when using the silent installer. For historical reasons, the properties in this file have different names to the standard installer properties, but have the same functionality.


It is recommended to use the custom properties file instead of the silent installer properties file where possible. The properties available to be set through the silent installer properties file are very limited in comparison to the custom properties file.

The silent installer properties file must exist on the file system of the computer being installed onto. The file name must be the first argument after the -silent switch:

```
java -jar yellowfin-yyyymmdd-full.jar -silent install.properties

```

When passing command-line arguments to the silent installer, you must include a silent installer properties file as the first argument before any additional options, even if it is just an empty file. The following will not work:

```
java -jar yellowfin-yyyymmdd-full.jar -silent option.serverport=8090

```

### Available Properties

Property keys in the silent installer properties file are not case sensitive.

| **Property Key** | **Value** | **Corresponding Key in **`custom.properties`** File** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `JavaHome` | The java installation path to use when running Yellowfin. | `option.javahome` |
| `InstallPath` | The path to install Yellowfin into | `option.installpath` |
| `InstallTutorialDatabase` | Whether to install the tutorial database and sample content | `option.pack.tutorial` |
| `LicenceFilePath` | The location of the Yellowfin licence file | `option.licencefile` |
| `ServicePort` | The web server port | `option.serverport` |
| `InstallService` | Whether to install a Windows service | `option.winservice` |
| `AppMemory` | The amount of memory in megabytes to assign to Yellowfin at install time (if not set, it defaults to 75% of the server’s RAM). | `option.appmemory` |
| `DatabaseType` | The database type for the Yellowfin configuration database | `option.db.dbtype` |
| `Authentication` | The authentication type to use if the database type is SQL Server | `option.db.sqlauthtype` |
| `LogonDomain` | The logon domain to use if the database type is SQL Server, and the authentication type is Windows | `option.db.sqldomain` |
| `SQLServerNamedInstance` | The instance name to use if the database type is SQL Server. To use the default instance, omit this property. | `option.db.sqlinstance` |
| `ProgressDriver` | The location of the JDBC driver if the database type is Progress | `option.db.progressdriver` |
| `CreateYellowfinDB` | Whether to create a new database for the Yellowfin configuration database | `option.db.createdb` |
| `CreateYellowfinDBUser` | Whether to create a new database user | `option.db.createuser` |
| `DatabaseHostname` | The server hostname for the Yellowfin configuration database | `option.db.hostname` |
| `DatabasePort` | The server port for the Yellowfin configuration database | `option.db.port` |
| `DatabaseName` | The database name for the Yellowfin configuration database.<br>Note: If installing Oracle, use this key to specify the SID, or service name, based on the selected Oracle connection mode. | `option.db.dbname` |
| `DatabaseDBAUser` | The database admin username | `option.db.dbausername` |
| `DatabaseDBAPassword` | The database admin user password | `option.db.dbapassword` |
| `DatabaseUser` | The database username for the Yellowfin configuration database | `option.db.username` |
| `DatabasePassword` | The database user password for the Yellowfin configuration database | `option.db.userpassword` |
| `ORACLEMODE` | The connection method to connect to an Oracle database. Options include *SID* or *service*. The value of the selected method must be specified using the DatabaseName key.<br>**Note:** This property key must be specified if using the silent installer to install an Oracle database. See Oracle example below. | `option.db.oracleconnectionmode` |
| `JDBCDriverFiles` | Path to JDBC driver files. Specify multiple paths by separating them with commas.<br>Tip: Use this to supply the jar files of database drivers that are not readily packaged with the installer. | `option.db.jdbcdriverfiles` |
| `OracleAuth` | The method Oracle should use to authenticate its user. The value can be kerberos (using Kerberos Authentication) or user (using username and password). | Not available |
| `KerberosFilePath` | The absolute file path to where the Kerberos settings are kept. | Not available |
| `EnableStrictSecurity` | Enable strict security settings by default on this installation. | `option.strictsecuritysettings` |

### Examples

Consider the following example:

```
InstallPath=/applications/yellowfin
InstallTutorialDatabase=true
ServicePort=8080
InstallService=false
DatabaseType=MySQL
CreateYellowfinDB=true
CreateYellowfinDBUser=false
DatabaseHostname=localhost
DatabaseName=yellowfin
DatabaseDBAUser=root
DatabaseDBAPassword=secret
DatabaseUser=yf
DatabasePassword=

```


Below is an example of required property keys for installing an Oracle database:

```
DatabaseType=Oracle
DatabasePort=1521
ORACLEMODE=service
DatabaseName=ORCL
```

## **Bundling Out-of-the-Box Content updates with the Updater**

Updates to content can be delivered via the Updater. This will import the content during the installation process.  The content will be imported with the SkipDatasourceValidation flag enabled, this will mean that it will not attempt to connect to any datasource during the import. 

To enable this functionality a YFX named UpdateContent.yfx should be copied into the root of the Installer package. If the YFX is found during installation, the file will be staged for  import. However the actual import will not take place until Yellowfin is started for the first time.

Content that exists in the Yellowfin instance will be replaced with content from the YFX file if the content UUIDs match.