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README.md

Customizing Velociraptor deployments.

This directory contains the WiX XML configuration file that can be used to tailor your Velociraptor deployment. The configuration file can be used to build a Windows installer package (MSI) which automatically installs the service. This directory also contains a batch file used to build the MSI based on the custom XML configuration file.

The advantage of building your own MSI is that your config file will be bundled inside the MSI so you do not need to push it to endpoints - simply assign the MSI to your endpoints via SCCM or GPO. You can also adjust the binary name, service name, etc.

To build MSI packages you will need to download and install the WIX distribution from the github page (it requires .NET 3.5):

http://wixtoolset.org/releases/

Next, follow these steps:

  1. Edit the custom XML file (custom.xml or custom_x86.xml). Near the top, make sure the version variable of the MSI matches the version of Velociraptor you are packaging. The version is found in the Product XML tag (e.g. 0.42.0 corresponds to 0.4.2).

  2. Optional: Generate valid GUIDs to replace all GUIDs in the config file. You can use the linux uuidgen program to make new GUIDs.

  3. Optional: You can customize the description, comments, service name etc. If you decided to rename the binary you can adjust the name in the file.

  4. Optional: Modify the directory name where the binary will be installed.

  5. Save the custom XML file in a new directory for this new MSI build (e.g. C:\temp\msi-build).

  6. Place your Velociraptor client configuration file in a subdirectory called output/client.config.yaml. WiX will package this file into the MSI.

  7. Add the relevant binaries into the output subdirectory (output/velociraptor.exe or output/velociraptor_x86.exe)

  8. Place the appropriate build batch file into your custom build directory (build_custom.bat or build_x86_custom.bat). Execute the batch file to generate the custom MSI. This should produce a new custom.msi in your build directory.

Test the MSI file by installing and removing it. A simple test is to run msiexec /i custom.msi to install it. Uninstall with msiexec /x custom.msi. You can now push the MSI using group policy everywhere in your domain.

Note: When upgrading, keep the UpgradeCode the same to ensure the old package is uninstalled and the new one is installed.

Standard MSI

The standard MSI which is distributed in the Velociraptor releases does not have any configuration file. This standard package ("velociraptor.xml") will install a service with the name "Velociraptor Service" into the location "c:\Program Files\Velociraptor\Velociraptor.exe".

Since the standard MSI does not have any configuration included with it, the Velociraptor service will start and simply watch its installation directory for the configuration file. You should copy the file there by some other means (e.g. using Group Policy Scheduled Tasks). The configuration file must be placed in "C:\Program Files\Velociraptor\Velociraptor.config.yaml"