Hi everyone,
I’m developing InstallerLab, a free Windows installer creation tool, and I’ve recently added a new feature specifically for QGIS plugin developers.
InstallerLab can now import an existing QGIS Python plugin from either a plugin folder or a ZIP package and create an InstallerLab project from it.
The goal is to make it easier to prepare a Windows deployment package for QGIS plugins without having to manually create the installer configuration.
For QGIS plugin projects, InstallerLab currently supports:
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MSI — Windows Installer package
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Bundle — Windows bootstrapper package
InstallerLab recognizes QGIS plugins as a separate project type, so regular application targets such as EXE or Portable are intentionally disabled for them.
InstallerLab is free
InstallerLab is currently available free of charge.
There is no payment required to download it and test the QGIS plugin import/deployment functionality.
Why I’m posting here
This QGIS feature is still new, and I would really like to test it against real plugins created by different QGIS developers.
My own test projects can only cover a limited number of structures, so I’m especially interested in discovering problems with things such as:
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plugin folder structures
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metadata.txt -
Python package layouts
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icons and resources
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translations
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extra files
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dependencies
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unusual directory structures
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upgrade/reinstallation behavior
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installation paths
So the idea is simple: try it with real QGIS plugins and see what breaks. 
If InstallerLab imports something incorrectly, misses files, generates an unexpected package, or simply does not understand a valid plugin structure, I would really like to know.
Important clarification
InstallerLab is not intended to replace the official QGIS Plugin Repository.
The normal QGIS plugin ZIP and repository distribution mechanism remains the standard way to distribute plugins through QGIS.
InstallerLab is aimed at an additional use case: developers or organizations that also need Windows MSI or bootstrapper-based deployment, for example for:
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managed company computers
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internal deployments
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laboratories
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classrooms
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institutional environments
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controlled Windows installations
Current status
InstallerLab is under active development, and the QGIS functionality should currently be considered experimental.
The goal of this post is precisely to get feedback from QGIS developers before considering this part of the application stable.
Project website:
If anyone is interested in testing it, I would really appreciate feedback about what works, what does not, and what InstallerLab is still missing for real-world QGIS plugin deployment.
Thanks!
