Self updating application install with WIX?

Just how "auto"-update does it have to be? :-)

We use WiX (2.0) for an app that needs to be installed over and over again. As long as you go with "major upgrades" from version to version, that works just fine - you can uninstall the old version and then re-install the new one - no major problems here.

The key is to have a stable "UpgradeCode" (a GUID in your WiX) that never changes - it's the key for your app - and to have a new ProductCode for every release.

Then, in your wxs file, you need two bits:

<Upgrade Id='--your-updatecode-GUID-here--'>
    <UpgradeVersion MigrateFeatures='yes' RemoveFeatures='ALL' />
</Upgrade>

<InstallExecuteSequence>
  <RemoveExistingProducts After='InstallInitialize' />
</InstallExecuteSequence>

That should do it!

Other than that - nothing really much to say - it just works :-)

Yeah, ClickThrough really is what you're looking for here. There are bits and pieces in it that work. You might be able to dissect the code and use it yourself without all the extra "UI + build integration". Most of the bugs are in the higher levels. At the root, the RSS update and executable bootstrapper work fine.