Feature Request: Add option to inject Autounattend.xml and $OEM$ folder into Windows 11 ISO (Win11 Creation section)

[a111et]

Feature Request: Add option to inject Autounattend.xml and $OEM$ folder into Windows 11 ISO (Win11 Creation section)

I would like to propose a useful enhancement for the Win11 Creation section in WinUtil.

Please consider adding a simple toggle/option that asks the user whether they want to include a custom autounattend.xml answer file and a $OEM$ folder into the Windows 11 ISO during creation.

Idea

Add a prompt such as:

“Do you want to add an unattended setup configuration (autounattend.xml + $OEM$ folder) to the ISO?”

If the user selects “Yes”, WinUtil would allow them to:

• Provide or generate an autounattend.xml file
• Include a $OEM$ folder structure for scripts, drivers, or preset configurations
• Automatically integrate both into the ISO before final build

Why this is useful

This would greatly improve the flexibility of the tool for advanced users and system integrators. It enables:

• Fully automated Windows installation
• Pre-configured system setups (user accounts, regional settings, partitions, etc.)
• Easy inclusion of scripts, drivers, and tweaks via $OEM$
• Faster deployment for multiple machines without manual setup

Benefit

This feature would make WinUtil even more powerful for:

• IT technicians
• Power users
• System builders
• Lab / enterprise deployment scenarios

It keeps the UI simple while adding a very strong “advanced automation” option for those who need it.

[hbilbo]

I’ve since moved to Schneegans autounattend generator because of the lack of advanced options such as this in winutil Win11 iso creator. Really I should say the lack of any options. What exactly is winutil iso creator doing? Who knows, but I like to have control over how my system will be setup and Schneegans does that. Not to mention the ability to select options, inject files, run scripts, etc.

[mewclouds]

We already use Schneegans, we just don't stop there. tools/autounattend.xml is generated from the Schneegans generator (check the comment on line 3, it's the actual generator URL with all the params), then we template it and inject our own setup automation on top of it.

As for "who knows what it's doing", it's not a mystery. Everything WinUtil stages runs from C:\Windows\Setup\Scripts, and post-install logs are available on the same directory. You can open the ISO and read every script it drops in. Docs on this are stale right now after a refactor, that's on me since I did the refactor and I'm already working on updating them.

Wanting more control (import your own answer file, inject your own scripts) is a fair ask and something I'd love too (though you can drop your own autounattend.xml and replace our Scripts with yours). Let's not pretend Win11 Creator is a black box, because it isn't. I'll ping Chris asking for his opinion on the topic.

[FoundPacketErrors]

I second the request. Yes, one can manually go edit scripts or files but if you're going to do that then why even bother with the tool.

The entire purpose of the tool is to make it EASY even for average users that don't have the skill set to perform some of the advanced operations on a computer.

Make a small panel similar to the Tweaks panel where a user can click to add, remove, change certain features they want and not simply a preselected choice.

Even Rufus has a very small popup that allows the user to make some choices on their own.