Windows Installer — On-Premise / Enterprise

One .exe installs the whole stack on the customer's own Windows Server. Their SQL, their domain, no cloud dependency.

When to use this

The default deployment is SaaS cloud — customers just sign up at solvexaretail.com. But some enterprise customers need on-premise for:

Data-residency requirements (data must stay on customer premises)
Existing SQL Server / Windows Server infrastructure they want to reuse
Air-gapped or offline environments
Chain of stores where each store runs its own instance and syncs to HO

Prerequisites on the customer machine

Windows 10 / 11 or Windows Server 2019+
.NET 10 ASP.NET Core Runtime — download. Pick "ASP.NET Core Runtime 10.x — Windows x64 Installer"
SQL Server 2019+ or SQL Server Express (any edition, local or reachable on LAN) — download

If either prereq is missing, the installer aborts with a friendly download link. No half-installed state.

Install walkthrough

Double-click SolvexaRetailHQ-Setup-<version>.exe (elevated / Run as administrator)
Read + accept the EULA
Pick install location (default C:\Program Files\Solvexa\Retail)
Optional: tick "Desktop shortcut"
Click Install. Files copy (~70 MB).
Configure.exe launches automatically — see next section
Finish. Browser opens to http://localhost:5000

Configure.exe wizard — SQL + service setup

After files land, Solvexa.Configure.exe runs. This is where you point Solvexa at your SQL Server.

Server\Instance — e.g. localhost\SQLEXPRESS or SQL01.local,1433
Database name — default MyRetailHQ
Authentication — pick Windows (uses your logged-in Windows identity) or SQL user (sa / SolvexaApp / whatever). Both work.
Click Install — this does 5 things in sequence:
1. Tests the SQL connection
2. Creates the MyRetailHQ database if missing
3. Runs every Database\*.sql migration in filename order (idempotent — safe to re-run)
4. Writes appsettings.Production.json with the resolved connection string
5. Registers SolvexaRetailHQ as an auto-start Windows Service, opens firewall port 5000, and starts the service
Browser auto-opens to http://localhost:5000. Sign up as first user.

Configure.exe requires administrator privileges (needs to touch Program Files, register a service, and open firewall). It'll UAC-prompt automatically.

Windows Service — SolvexaRetailHQ

The app runs as a background Windows Service so it starts automatically on boot and survives reboots.

Service name: SolvexaRetailHQ
Display name: "Solvexa Retail HQ"
Startup type: Automatic
Listens on: http://0.0.0.0:5000 (firewall rule "Solvexa Retail HQ" allows inbound TCP 5000)

Manage from Services.msc or from an elevated cmd:

net stop SolvexaRetailHQ
net start SolvexaRetailHQ
sc query SolvexaRetailHQ

Reconfigure SQL later

If SQL moves, credentials rotate, or you want to migrate to a fresh DB, re-run Configure.exe:

Start Menu "Reconfigure SQL / Migrations" (points at the installed Configure.exe)
Same wizard as install. Enter new connection details. Migrations re-run (idempotent).
Service restarts on the new connection.

Uninstall — data-safe

Control Panel Apps Solvexa Retail HQ Uninstall. What happens:

Service stops + is deleted
Firewall rule "Solvexa Retail HQ" removed
App files deleted from C:\Program Files\Solvexa\Retail
Database is NEVER dropped — customer data is preserved. A reinstall picks up where they left off.

If the customer truly wants to wipe data, they drop the SQL database manually via SSMS or DROP DATABASE MyRetailHQ.

Build the .exe (developer / integrator)

For the team producing the installer to ship to customers:

Install Inno Setup 6 on the build machine (free, one-time)
cd D:\Projects\MyRetail\MyRetail.HQ\installer
.\build.ps1
Output: installer\out\SolvexaRetailHQ-Setup-1.0.0.exe

The build script:

dotnet publish the app for win-x64 (framework-dependent — customer has .NET 10 runtime)
dotnet publish Configure.exe
Invokes ISCC.exe on SolvexaRetail.iss

Ship the resulting single .exe to the customer via any channel (email, USB, download link). Everything they need is baked in.