User Guides

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Command Line: Installation and Activation

How can I use the command line to install and manage SnapGene licenses?

SnapGene Installation

Unattended installation of SnapGene on Windows is possible via the command-line by passing the /S (silent mode) switch to the SnapGene installer.

By default the SnapGene Installer installs to C:\Program Files\SnapGene.

To install to an alternate location run the SnapGene installer use the /S (silent mode) and /D= switches.

snapgene_X.X.X_win.exe /S /D=X:\installation\directory

SnapGene Activation

Once installed, SnapGene version 4.2 and later support activation via the command-line.

Command line flags allow for a streamlined silent install. Flags can be listed with --help:

/path/to/SnapGene --help
 ...
 --about Print installation info.
 --accept-eula Accept the End-User License Agreement.
 --group-name <NAME> License group name.
 --register Activate license.
 --registration-code <CODE> License registration code.
 --unregister Deactivate the current license.
 ...

Register and Accept the EULA

Use the following flags to accept the End User License Agreement (EULA) and activate your copy of SnapGene:

(Note that -- dashes, while allowed, are not required when specifying the registration code.)

/path/to/SnapGene --accept-eula \
                  --register \
                  --group-name "YOUR GROUP NAME" \
                  --registration-code "YOUR REGISTRATION CODE"

Unregister a Computer

To unregister SnapGene and free up the license for use on another computer, use the --unregister flag:

/path/to/SnapGene --unregister

View License Information: Windows

To see information about a current installation, even while a user is currently running SnapGene, use the --about flag:

\path\to\SnapGene\Snapgene.exe --about

Your group name, registration code, other license, and installation information will then be shown.

View License Information: Mac

To see information about a current installation, use the --about flag with the SnapGene executable in the application bundle.

/Applications/SnapGene.app/Contents/MacOS/SnapGene --about

Example output:

 Application Name: SnapGene
 Application Version: 5.1.5
 OS Name: macOS Catalina
 OS Version: 10.15
 Computer Name: imac
 User UUID: {00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000}
 User Name: Joe User
 License Type: static
 Group Name: Fly Lab
 Registration Code: YOUR-REG-CODE
 License UUID: {11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111}
 Updates Until: May 2, 2021
 Application Data Directory: /Users/joe/Library/Application Support/SnapGene
 Temporary Files Directory: /Users/joe/Library/Caches/SnapGene
 Documents Directory: /Users/joe/Documents
 Host Name: imac
 Domain Name:
 Local Host Name: imac
 Interfaces:
 0A:0B:0C:0D:0E:0F
 External IP address: 11.111.11.111