nsisuse

nsisuse is an open-source framework designed to extend the NSIS installer ecosystem by introducing a modular, reusable approach to creating Windows installers. It provides a declarative description format for components, dependencies, and installer logic, which compiles to standard NSIS scripts.

The project originated in 2023 among NSIS contributors seeking to reduce duplication in multi-product packaging. It is hosted on a public repository and released under a permissive license. Community contributions have produced multiple releases and ongoing development.

Architecture: The core concepts include a component registry that defines installable units, a templating layer for common UI and behavior, and a build tool that resolves dependencies and generates NSIS code. It interoperates with existing NSIS plugins and can incorporate custom scripts.

Workflow: Developers write .nsisuse manifests and component definitions, employ the build tool to generate an installer script, then run the standard NSIS compiler to create the installer. It supports localization, versioning, and optional feature flags.

Use cases include organizations with multiple software products sharing common components (libraries, runtimes) who wish to centralize installer logic; teams can publish reusable components to a registry.

Status: nsisuse remains a community project with ongoing development and limited adoption beyond experimental use. Documentation exists but may be incomplete; users should evaluate compatibility with their NSIS version and project requirements.