Interactive Mode Guide

Overview

Interactive mode is the default mode when you run psw without any command-line flags. It provides a beautiful, menu-driven interface with step-by-step prompts to guide you through generating Umbraco installation scripts.

Starting Interactive Mode

Simply type psw at the command line:

psw

Welcome Screen

When you start interactive mode, you'll see the welcome banner:

 ____  ______        __  ____ _     ___
|  _ \/ ___\ \      / / / ___| |   |_ _|
| |_) \___ \\ \ /\ / / | |   | |    | |
|  __/ ___) |\ V  V /  | |___| |___ | |
|_|   |____/  \_/\_/    \____|_____|___|

Package Script Writer - Interactive CLI
By Paul Seal
Press Ctrl+C at any time to start over

The CLI automatically checks for package updates and populates the marketplace cache in the background.

Main Menu

After the welcome screen, you'll see the main menu with these options:

What would you like to do?
> Use default script
  Use local template
  Use community template
  Load script from history
  Create new script
  Load Umbraco versions table
  Help

Use the arrow keys (↑/↓) to navigate and Enter to select an option.

Menu Options

1. Use Default Script

Description: Generates a script with sensible defaults - perfect for quick setup.

What you see:

Create Script with Default Configuration

Using default configuration (latest stable Umbraco with clean starter kit)

⠋ Generating default installation script...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Generated Default Installation Script    ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                           ║
║ # Install Umbraco templates               ║
║ dotnet new install Umbraco.Templates...   ║
║ dotnet new umbraco --force...             ║
║ dotnet add package clean...               ║
║                                           ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

What would you like to do with this script?
(Press Ctrl+C at any time to start over)
> Run
  Edit
  Copy
  Save
  Start over

Default configuration includes:

Latest stable Umbraco Templates
Project name: "MyProject"
Clean starter kit package
No unattended install (requires manual setup)
SQLite database (if unattended)
Standard multi-line format

📖 Learn more: Default Script Guide

2. Use Local Template

Description: Load a saved template configuration from your local template library.

What you see:

Load template

Select a template:
> my-blog-template - My blog setup
  company-standard - Company standard configuration
  client-premium - Premium client setup
  e-commerce-setup - E-commerce configuration

After selecting a template:

⠋ Loading template my-blog-template...

✓ Template loaded: my-blog-template

⠋ Generating installation script...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Generated Installation Script            ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                           ║
║ # Install Umbraco templates               ║
║ dotnet new install Umbraco.Templates...   ║
║ dotnet new umbraco --force...             ║
║ dotnet add package uSync|17.0.0...        ║
║ dotnet add package Umbraco.Forms...       ║
║                                           ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

What would you like to do with this script?
(Press Ctrl+C at any time to start over)
> Run
  Edit
  Copy
  Save
  Start over

Features:

Quick access to your saved configurations
Automatically generates script from template
Edit and regenerate from action menu if needed
Save new templates from any configuration

📖 Learn more: Templates Guide

3. Use Community Template

Description: Browse and use pre-made templates shared by the Umbraco community.

What you see:

Community Templates
Choose from templates shared by the community

⠋ Fetching community templates...

Select a community template:
> Umbraco 14 Blog (blog, umbraco14)
  Complete blog setup with uSync and Umbraco Forms

  Umbraco 14 E-Commerce Starter (e-commerce, umbraco14)
  E-commerce setup with payment integration

  Umbraco 13 LTS Standard (lts, umbraco13)
  Standard Umbraco 13 LTS configuration

After selecting a template:

⠋ Loading template 'Umbraco 14 Blog'...

✓ Loaded: Umbraco 14 Blog
  Author: Community Contributors
  Complete blog setup with uSync and Umbraco Forms

⠋ Generating installation script...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Generated Script from 'Umbraco 14 Blog'          ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                                   ║
║ # Install Umbraco templates                       ║
║ dotnet new install Umbraco.Templates...           ║
║ dotnet new umbraco --force...                     ║
║ dotnet add package uSync|17.0.0...                ║
║ dotnet add package Umbraco.Forms|14.2.0...        ║
║                                                   ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

What would you like to do with this script?
(Press Ctrl+C at any time to start over)
> Run
  Edit
  Copy
  Save
  Start over

Features:

Community-maintained templates hosted on GitHub
Pre-configured for common scenarios
Automatically generates script from template
Edit and regenerate from action menu if needed

📖 Learn more: Community Templates Guide

4. Load Script from History

Description: View and re-run scripts you've generated before.

What you see:

Load script from history

Select a history entry:
> 2025-12-18 14:30 - MyBlog
  2025-12-18 10:15 - ClientSite
  2025-12-17 16:45 - TestProject
  2025-12-17 09:00 - DevSetup

After selecting an entry:

✓ History entry loaded: MyBlog

⠋ Generating installation script...

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Generated Installation Script            ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════╣
║                                           ║
║ # Install Umbraco templates               ║
║ dotnet new install Umbraco.Templates...   ║
║ dotnet new umbraco --force...             ║
║ dotnet add package uSync|17.0.0...        ║
║ dotnet add package Diplo.GodMode...       ║
║                                           ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════╝

What would you like to do with this script?
(Press Ctrl+C at any time to start over)
> Run
  Edit
  Copy
  Save
  Start over

Features:

Automatically tracks all generated scripts
Shows timestamp and project name
Regenerates scripts with same configuration
Edit and regenerate from action menu if needed

📖 Learn more: History System Guide

5. Create New Script

Description: Build a custom script from scratch with full control over all options.

What you see:

Configuration Editor

Select configuration options to edit (use Space to select, Enter to confirm):
> [X] Template & Project Settings
  [X] Packages
  [ ] Starter Kit
  [ ] Docker Options
  [ ] Unattended Install
  [ ] Output Format

  Generate Script
  Cancel

If you select "Template & Project Settings":

Template & Project Settings

Select Umbraco template package:
> Umbraco.Templates (official)
  Umbraco.Community.Templates.Clean
  Umbraco.Community.Templates.UmBootstrap
  Custom template package...

Select template version:
> Latest Stable
  Latest LTS (14.x)
  Specific version...

Enter project name [MyProject]: MyCustomProject

Create a solution file? (y/n): y

Enter solution name [MyCustomProject]: MyCustomSolution

If you select "Packages":

The package selection system offers multiple ways to find and add packages, with version selection happening immediately after each package is selected.

Step 3: Select Packages and Versions

How would you like to add packages?
> Select from popular Umbraco packages
  Search for package on Umbraco Marketplace
  Search for package on nuget.org
  Modify selected packages
  Done - finish package selection

Option 1: Select from popular Umbraco packages

Browse all packages from the Umbraco Marketplace with a cancel option at the top:

Select packages (use Space to select, Enter to confirm):
> Cancel - don't add any of these packages
  [ ] Umbraco.Community.BlockPreview
  [ ] Diplo.GodMode
  [ ] uSync
  [ ] Umbraco.Community.Contentment
  [ ] Umbraco.Forms
  [ ] Artikulate
  [ ] Our.Umbraco.GMaps
  ... (500+ packages available)
  (Page 1 of 50)

Option 2: Search for package on Umbraco Marketplace

Search for specific packages by name with a cancel option at the top:

Enter search term: god mode

Search results:
> Cancel - don't add any of these packages
  Diplo.GodMode - God Mode for Umbraco
  (1 result found)

Option 3: Search for package on nuget.org

Search the full NuGet.org repository for packages not in the Umbraco Marketplace:

Enter search term: newtonsoft

Search results (from nuget.org):
> Cancel - don't add any of these packages
  Newtonsoft.Json - Popular JSON framework for .NET (by James Newton-King)
  Newtonsoft.Json.Schema - JSON Schema reader, generator, and validator (by James Newton-King)
  ... (showing up to 20 results)

Immediate version selection after each package:

After selecting any package, you immediately choose its version:

Select version for Diplo.GodMode:
> Latest Stable
  Pre-release
  3.0.3
  3.0.2
  3.0.1
  3.0.0

Option 4: Modify selected packages

Review and remove previously selected packages. All packages are pre-selected:

Select packages to keep (uncheck to remove):
  [X] Diplo.GodMode
      - 3.0.3
  [X] uSync
      - Latest Stable
  [X] Newtonsoft.Json
      - 13.0.3

(Use Space to toggle, Enter to confirm)

You can uncheck any package to remove it, or uncheck all to clear your selections.

Option 5: Done - finish package selection

Returns to the configuration menu with all selected packages and their versions saved.

If you select "Starter Kit":

Starter Kit Options

Include a starter kit? (y/n): y

Select starter kit:
> clean
  Articulate
  Portfolio
  LittleNorth.Igloo
  Umbraco.BlockGrid.Example.Website
  Umbraco.TheStarterKit
  uSkinnedSiteBuilder

Select starter kit version:
> Latest stable
  Specific version...

If you select "Docker Options":

Docker Options

Include Dockerfile? (y/n): y

Include Docker Compose file? (y/n): y

If you select "Unattended Install":

Unattended Install Options

Use unattended install? (y/n): y

Select database type:
> SQLite
  LocalDb
  SQLServer
  SQLAzure
  SQLCE

[If SQLServer/SQLAzure selected]
Enter connection string:

Enter admin user friendly name [Administrator]: Site Admin

Enter admin email [admin@example.com]: admin@mysite.com

Enter admin password (min 10 characters): **********

If you select "Output Format":

Output Format Options

Output as one-liner? (y/n): n

Remove comments from script? (y/n): n

Include prerelease packages? (y/n): n

Configuration Summary:

After selecting your options:

Configuration Summary

┌─────────────────────┬──────────────────────────┐
│ Setting             │ Value                    │
├─────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┤
│ Template            │ Umbraco.Templates @ LTS  │
│ Project Name        │ MyCustomProject          │
│ Solution Name       │ MyCustomSolution         │
│ Packages            │ 3 package(s) selected    │
│ Starter Kit         │ clean                    │
│ Docker              │ Enabled (both files)     │
│ Unattended Install  │ Enabled                  │
│ Database Type       │ SQLite                   │
│ Admin User          │ Site Admin               │
│ Admin Email         │ admin@mysite.com         │
│ Output Format       │ Multi-line with comments │
└─────────────────────┴──────────────────────────┘

Generate script with these settings? (y/n): y

⭐ Generating installation script...

[Script is displayed in a panel]

What would you like to do with this script?
> Display in terminal
  Save to file
  Run immediately
  Edit configuration
  Save as template
  Cancel

Features:

Full control over every aspect of the script
Interactive prompts for each option
Visual configuration summary before generation
Edit and regenerate as many times as needed
Save successful configurations as templates

📖 Learn more: Custom Script Configuration

6. Load Umbraco Versions Table

Description: Display a table of Umbraco CMS version numbers with their support status.

What you see:

Umbraco CMS Versions

┌─────────┬────────────────┬─────────────────┬──────────────────┐
│ Version │ Status         │ Release Date    │ Support Until    │
├─────────┼────────────────┼─────────────────┼──────────────────┤
│ 14.3.0  │ ✓ Latest       │ Dec 2024        │ Active           │
│ 14.2.0  │ ✓ Stable       │ Nov 2024        │ Active           │
│ 14.1.0  │ ✓ Stable       │ Oct 2024        │ Active           │
│ 14.0.0  │ ✓ LTS          │ May 2024        │ May 2027         │
│ 13.5.2  │ ✓ LTS          │ Apr 2024        │ Dec 2026         │
│ 13.4.1  │ ✓ LTS          │ Mar 2024        │ Dec 2026         │
│ 13.3.0  │ ✓ LTS          │ Feb 2024        │ Dec 2026         │
│ 13.2.0  │ ○ Maintenance  │ Jan 2024        │ Dec 2025         │
│ 13.1.0  │ ○ Maintenance  │ Dec 2023        │ Jun 2025         │
│ 13.0.0  │ ✗ End of Life  │ Jun 2023        │ Ended            │
│ 12.3.6  │ ✗ End of Life  │ May 2023        │ Ended            │
│ 10.8.7  │ ✗ End of Life  │ Dec 2022        │ Ended            │
└─────────┴────────────────┴─────────────────┴──────────────────┘

Legend:
  ✓ - Actively supported
  ○ - Maintenance mode
  ✗ - No longer supported

Press Enter to return to main menu...

Features:

Shows all major Umbraco versions
Support status and timelines
Release dates
LTS (Long Term Support) indicators
Helps you choose the right version

📖 Learn more: Umbraco Versions Reference

7. Help

Description: Display comprehensive help information about the CLI tool.

What you see:

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║    Package Script Writer Help            ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

USAGE:
  psw [options]

INTERACTIVE MODE:
  psw

  Launch the interactive menu-driven interface with guided
  prompts for generating Umbraco installation scripts.

CLI MODE:
  psw --default
  psw -p "uSync,Diplo.GodMode" -n MyProject
  psw -p "uSync|17.0.0" -n MyProject -s MySolution -u

TEMPLATE COMMANDS:
  psw template save <name> [options]
  psw template load <name> [options]
  psw template list
  psw template delete <name>

HISTORY COMMANDS:
  psw history list
  psw history show <#>
  psw history rerun <#>

COMMON OPTIONS:
  -h, --help              Show help information
  -v, --version           Show version number
  -p, --packages <pkgs>   Specify packages
  -n, --project-name <nm> Set project name
  -s, --solution <name>   Create solution
  -u, --unattended        Use unattended install
  --verbose               Enable detailed logging

For complete documentation, visit:
https://github.com/prjseal/Package-Script-Writer/blob/main/.github/cli-documentation.md

Press Enter to return to main menu...

Features:

Quick reference for all commands
Usage examples
Link to full documentation
Returns to main menu when done

Script Actions Menu

After generating any script, you'll see this menu:

What would you like to do with this script?
(Press Ctrl+C at any time to start over)
> Run
  Edit
  Copy
  Save
  Start over

Run

Executes the script immediately with command validation:

Enter directory to run script in [current directory]: ./projects/new-site

Validating script commands...
✓ All commands validated

Running script in: /home/user/projects/new-site

> dotnet new install Umbraco.Templates::14.3.0 --force
  ⠋ Installing...
  ✓ Template installed

> dotnet new umbraco --force -n "MyProject"
  ⠋ Creating project...
  ✓ Project created

[... execution continues ...]

✓ Script completed successfully!

Edit

Returns you to the configuration editor to modify settings and regenerate the script.

Copy

Copies the generated script to your clipboard for easy pasting.

✓ Script copied to clipboard

Save

Saves the script to a file:

Enter file name [install-script.sh]: my-umbraco-setup.sh

✓ Script saved to my-umbraco-setup.sh

Start over

Returns to the main menu without saving or running the script.

Navigation Tips

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
↑ / ↓	Navigate menu options
Space	Select/deselect in multi-select lists
Enter	Confirm selection
Ctrl+C	Cancel current operation and return to main menu
Esc	Go back (in some prompts)

Multi-Select Lists

When you see checkboxes [ ], you can:

Use Space to toggle selection
Use ↑/↓ to move between items
Press Enter when done selecting

Example:

Select packages:
  [ ] Umbraco.Community.BlockPreview
  [X] Diplo.GodMode         ← Selected
  [X] uSync                 ← Selected
  [ ] Umbraco.Forms

Single Select Lists

When you see an arrow >, only one item can be selected:

Use ↑/↓ to change selection
Press Enter to confirm

Example:

Select database type:
> SQLite        ← Currently selected
  LocalDb
  SQL Server

Best Practices

1. Start with Default Script

If you're new to the tool, start with "Use default script" to see how it works.

2. Save Successful Configurations

When you create a configuration that works well, use "Save as template" to reuse it later.

3. Use History for Repeated Tasks

The history system automatically tracks your work. Use "Load script from history" to quickly repeat previous operations.

4. Explore Community Templates

Check out "Use community template" for pre-made configurations created by other users.

5. Enable Verbose Mode

If you encounter issues, restart with psw --verbose to see detailed diagnostic output.

Troubleshooting

Package List Not Loading

⚠ Warning: Could not load marketplace packages

Using cached package list from: ~/.psw/cache/packages-cache.json

Solution: Check your internet connection. The tool will use cached data if available.

Template Not Found

✗ Error: Template 'my-template' not found

Available templates:
  - company-standard
  - blog-setup

Solution: Run psw template list to see available templates.

Script Validation Failed

✗ Script validation failed - dangerous commands detected:

  • Line 5: Command not allowed: 'rm -rf /'

The script contains commands that are not in the allowlist.

Solution: The security system blocked a dangerous command. This is by design - only safe dotnet commands are allowed. See Security Guide.

History Empty

No history entries found.

Generate a script to start building your history.

Solution: History is only created when you generate scripts. Use any script generation option to create your first entry.

Examples

Quick Start Example

# 1. Start interactive mode
psw

# 2. Select "Use default script" from menu
# 3. Choose "Save to file"
# 4. Enter filename: quick-start.sh
# 5. Done! Script saved

Custom Blog Setup Example

# 1. Start interactive mode
psw

# 2. Select "Create new script"
# 3. Select configuration options:
#    - Template & Project Settings
#    - Packages (select uSync, Diplo.GodMode)
#    - Starter Kit (select clean)
#    - Unattended Install (SQLite + admin credentials)
# 4. Review configuration summary
# 5. Generate script
# 6. Save as template: "my-blog-template"
# 7. Save script to file

Using Templates Example

# 1. Start interactive mode
psw

# 2. Select "Use local template"
# 3. Choose "my-blog-template"
# 4. Select "Generate script with these settings"
# 5. Choose "Run immediately"
# 6. Enter directory: ./my-new-blog
# 7. Watch it execute!

📖 Back to CLI Documentation | 🏠 Main Repository

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Interactive Mode Guide

Overview

Starting Interactive Mode

Welcome Screen

Main Menu

Menu Options

1. Use Default Script

2. Use Local Template

3. Use Community Template

4. Load Script from History

5. Create New Script

If you select "Template & Project Settings":

If you select "Packages":

If you select "Starter Kit":

If you select "Docker Options":

If you select "Unattended Install":

If you select "Output Format":

Configuration Summary:

6. Load Umbraco Versions Table

7. Help

Script Actions Menu

Run

Edit

Copy

Save

Start over

Navigation Tips

Keyboard Shortcuts

Multi-Select Lists

Single Select Lists

Best Practices

1. Start with Default Script

2. Save Successful Configurations

3. Use History for Repeated Tasks

4. Explore Community Templates

5. Enable Verbose Mode

Troubleshooting

Package List Not Loading

Template Not Found

Script Validation Failed

History Empty

Related Documentation

Examples

Quick Start Example

Custom Blog Setup Example

Using Templates Example