Web Deploy Command Line Syntax
Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Vista, Windows XP
The principal elements of the Msdeploy.exe command line are a verb (also called an operation), a source, an optional destination, and optional operation settings. The verb and source are required. A destination is required by some verbs, but not others. Optional operation settings modify how the command runs.
The following shows the Msdeploy.exe command-line syntax. Arguments are shown in italics enclosed in angle brackets (for example, <verbName>). Optional arguments are enclosed by square brackets (for example, [-dest]).
msdeploy.exe -verb:<verbName>
-source:<provider>[=<pathToProviderObject>
[,<providerSetting>=<providerSettingValue>]]
[-dest:<provider>[=<pathToProviderObject>
[,<providerSetting>=<providerSettingValue>]]
]
[-<MSDeployOperationSetting> ...]
Arguments
-verb:<verbName>
Specifies a Web Deploy verb. A verb determines the action to be taken on a source or destination object. <verbName> must be one of the following: delete, dump, getDependencies, getSystemInfo, or sync. The sync verb requires both the -source and -dest arguments. The delete verb requires only the -dest argument. For more information about verbs, see Web Deploy Operations.
-source:<provider>
Specifies the source of the data for the verb argument. source is a required argument for the sync and dump operations, but not delete. The <provider> is a Web Deploy code feature that handles a specific kind of Web server-related source or destination object. The following settings are used with <provider>. For more information about providers, see Web Deploy Providers.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
[=<pathToProviderObject> |
Specifies a path of the provider object. Some providers require a path and some do not. If required, the kind of path depends on the provider. |
[,<providerSetting>=<providerSettingValue>]] |
Provider settings optionally specify additional information about how the source or destination provider will be accessed. <provider> or <provider>=<pathToProviderObject> may be followed by one or more settings. Provider settings are separated from the provider and from each other by a comma and no spaces. For possible values for <providerSetting> and <providerSettingValue>, see Web Deploy Provider Settings. One frequently used provider setting is computerName, which specifies the name of a source or destination computer. |
-dest: <provider>
Specifies the destination of a synchronization operation. The destination argument is required only if the sync or delete verb is specified. The provider, provider paths, and provider settings that can be used with -dest are the same as those described for -source.
[-<MSDeployOperationSetting> ... ]
Operation settings affect the execution of an entire Web Deploy operation. More than one operation setting can be used in a single command. Each operation setting is preceded by a space and a hyphen. For more information about operation settings, see Web Deploy Operation Settings.
/?, -?
Displays command-line help and version information. Typing msdeploy, msdeploy /?, or msdeploy -? after the command prompt shows summary help on Web Deploy syntax, operation settings, verbs, providers, and provider settings. For more detailed help, add the -help argument to any partial command line (for example, for help on the apphostconfig provider, type msdeploy -help -source:apphostconfig).
Tip
To display just the version of the Web Deployment Tool that you are using, type msdeploy | find "Version".
Using Web Deploy with Windows PowerShell
With a minor modification to its usual syntax, Web Deploy commands can be run from a Windows PowerShell prompt. To do this, change the colon character (:) after the verb, source, and dest arguments of the Web Deploy command to an equal sign (=). In the following example, compare the Web Deploy command with its PowerShell version.
Web Deploy command: msdeploy -verb:sync -source:metakey=/lm/w3svc/1 -dest:metakey=/lm/w3svc/2 -verbose
PowerShell command: .\msdeploy.exe -verb=sync -source=metakey=/lm/w3svc/1 -dest=metakey=/lm/w3svc/2 -verbose