Inno Setup

Ever since its debut back in 1997, Inno Setup has been the go to free installer for Windows software. What started as a humble tool has grown into a powerhouse that not only competes with paid alternatives but often outshines them in both features and rock solid reliability.

One of the coolest things about Inno Setup is its incredible compatibility. It works smoothly on pretty much every Windows version you can think of from the classics like Windows 95, 98, and ME, right through to NT 4.0, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, and 2008. And you don’t even need to worry about service packs!

If you're developing 64 bit apps, Inno Setup has you covered there too. It fully supports installation on 64 bit Windows, including both x64 and Itanium architectures. (Just a heads up for Itanium on Windows Server 2003, you’ll need Service Pack 1 or newer to install in 64 bit mode.)

Distribution is a breeze with Inno Setup. You can wrap your entire installation into a single EXE file, perfect for easy downloads online. It even supports disk spanning if your project is particularly large.

The installer sports a clean, familiar wizard interface that Windows users have loved since the 2000/XP era. You can offer different setup types like Full, Minimal, or Custom so users install only what they need. And when it’s time to remove the software, the uninstaller works flawlessly.

Under the hood, Inno Setup is packed with smart features: it handles compression using deflate, bzip2, or 7 Zip LZMA; it can compare file versions, replace files that are in use, and manage shared file counting. It also registers DLLs, OCXs, and type libraries, and can even install fonts.

You can create shortcuts wherever you want on the desktop, in the Start Menu, or elsewhere. Need to tweak the registry or edit INI files during installation? No problem. There’s even a built in Pascal scripting engine for those who want to get creative.

Other handy features include support for multilingual installations, password protection and encryption for your installers, and silent install/uninstall modes for automated setups. And if you're a developer who likes to tinker, the full source code is available (written in Borland Delphi 2.0–5.0).

All in all, Inno Setup remains a trusted, flexible, and completely free solution that continues to win over developers around the world.