zip-install is a small GUI for installing portable applications with automatic update detection
- All portable apps in one place instead of scattered across folders
- One-click install from
.ziparchives and standalone.exefiles - Right-click context menu for
.zipand.exe - Automatically matches to already installed apps
- Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts
- Password protected archives
- Scripts support as executables (.bat, .py?)
When launched with a file argument (via context menu or drag-and-drop), zip-install opens the package and scans for executable candidates.
It then computes a Jaccard similarity index between the archive's file structure and each previously installed app. If a match exceeds the configured threshold (default 0.8), it offers to update the existing installation; otherwise it does a new install.
Installations are stored under %LocalAppData%/ZipInstall/Packages/<uuid>/ (Windows) or ~/.local/share/ZipInstall/Packages/<uuid>/ (Linux), with a TOML index tracking installed apps and a separate config file for user preferences.
git clone https://github.com/danielpancake/zip-install.git
cd zip-install
cargo build --releaseThe binary will be at target/release/ folder.