Stirling-PDF/docs/distribution/CHOCOLATEY.md

Stirling PDF — Chocolatey Distribution

Stirling PDF is distributed via Chocolatey as two packages:

Package ID	Description
stirling-pdf	Desktop application (installs the MSI)
stirling-pdf-server	Headless server — runs as a Windows service on port 8080

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Installing via Chocolatey

# Desktop application
choco install stirling-pdf

# Headless server (installs and starts a Windows service)
choco install stirling-pdf-server

Upgrading

choco upgrade stirling-pdf
choco upgrade stirling-pdf-server

Uninstalling

choco uninstall stirling-pdf
choco uninstall stirling-pdf-server

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Desktop package (stirling-pdf)

The desktop package downloads and runs the official MSI installer, which installs the Tauri + Spring Boot application with a bundled JRE.

After installation:

• Launch from the Start Menu or desktop shortcut
• The embedded backend starts automatically when the app is opened
• No separate Java installation is needed

MSI silent install flags

The installer uses /quiet /norestart ALLUSERS=1 by default.

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Server package (stirling-pdf-server)

The server package:

1. Downloads the Spring Boot JAR to C:\ProgramData\StirlingPDF\
2. Downloads and unpacks a Temurin JRE 21 to C:\ProgramData\StirlingPDF\jre\
3. Registers a Windows service named StirlingPDFServer via NSSM and starts it automatically

The web UI is available at http://localhost:8080 after installation.

Managing the service

# Check status
Get-Service StirlingPDFServer

# Start / stop / restart
Start-Service StirlingPDFServer
Stop-Service  StirlingPDFServer
Restart-Service StirlingPDFServer

# Or via NSSM
nssm status StirlingPDFServer
nssm start  StirlingPDFServer
nssm stop   StirlingPDFServer

File locations

Path	Contents
C:\ProgramData\StirlingPDF\Stirling-PDF-*.jar	Application JAR
C:\ProgramData\StirlingPDF\jre\	Bundled Temurin JRE 21
C:\ProgramData\StirlingPDF\data\	User data and settings
C:\ProgramData\StirlingPDF\logs\	Log files

Changing the port

Edit the service parameters via NSSM GUI:

nssm edit StirlingPDFServer

Or update the AppParameters key directly and restart the service.

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Building the packages locally

Prerequisites

# Install Chocolatey (if not already installed)
Set-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope Process -Force
iex ((New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://community.chocolatey.org/install.ps1'))

Desktop package

# 1. Build the MSI via the Tauri workflow (or download from GitHub Releases)

# 2. Update version and checksum in the nuspec and install script
$version = "2.7.3"
$msiHash = (Get-FileHash "Stirling-PDF_${version}_x64_en-US.msi" -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()

# 3. Pack
cd manifests/chocolatey/stirling-pdf
choco pack stirling-pdf.nuspec

# 4. Test install locally
choco install stirling-pdf --source . --pre -y

Server package

# 1. Build the JAR
./gradlew :app:core:bootJar

# 2. Update version and checksum in the nuspec and install script
$version = "2.7.3"
$jarHash = (Get-FileHash "Stirling-PDF-${version}.jar" -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()

# 3. Pack
cd manifests/chocolatey/stirling-pdf-server
choco pack stirling-pdf-server.nuspec

# 4. Test install locally (requires nssm to be installed)
choco install stirling-pdf-server --source . --pre -y

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Publishing to the Chocolatey Community Repository

One-time setup

1. Create an account at https://community.chocolatey.org
2. Generate an API key from your account page
3. Add the key as a GitHub Actions secret named CHOCOLATEY_API_KEY

Automated publishing (CI)

The workflow at .github/workflows/chocolatey-publish.yml runs automatically on every GitHub release. It:

1. Extracts the version from Gradle
2. Downloads the release artifacts and computes SHA256 checksums
3. Patches the version and checksum placeholders in the install scripts
4. Runs choco pack and choco push

Manual workflow dispatch lets you push just the desktop, just the server, or both packages.

Manual push

choco push stirling-pdf.2.7.3.nupkg --source https://push.chocolatey.org/ --api-key YOUR_API_KEY
choco push stirling-pdf-server.2.7.3.nupkg --source https://push.chocolatey.org/ --api-key YOUR_API_KEY

Note: New package submissions to the Chocolatey community repository undergo a moderation review before being publicly available. Allow 1–3 days for initial approval. Updates to approved packages are typically auto-approved within minutes.

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Useful resources

• Chocolatey package creation guide: https://docs.chocolatey.org/en-us/create/create-packages
• Chocolatey nuspec reference: https://docs.chocolatey.org/en-us/create/create-packages#nuspec
• NSSM (service manager): https://nssm.cc/usage
• Flathub submission (for Linux): see docs/distribution/FLATPAK.md
• Snap Store (for Linux): see docs/distribution/SNAP.md