Run software without installing them on Windows PC with Zero Install

If you are annoyed by the cumbersome and time-consuming installation process of the downloaded software, Zero Install is the best program for you to try. Instead of installing the software on your system, you can simply catch them and use them whenever you want without downloading them again. Moreover, if any software is not cached in Zero Install it will automatically download to your Windows PC.

Zero Install is a decentralised cross-platform software installation system available under the LGPL. It allows software developers to publish programs directly from their own web-sites, while supporting features familiar from centralised distribution repositories such as shared libraries, automatic updates and digital signatures. It is intended to complement, rather than replace, the operating system’s package management. 0install packages never interfere with those provided by the distribution.

Zero Install allows users to use software directly from the web without installing it on the computer system. Users do not actually need to download, extract and install the software to use it. Zero Install can run it without the need for privileged roots.

Zero Install caches the software when it is downloaded from the internet the first time, and the program then runs the software from the cache. Zero Install uses the URL of a program and runs it on your computer system. In other words, it allows the user to use the software directly from their websites. The application unpacks its own directory inside the cache, and you can access the software.

Zero Install is cross-platform, and it can install the packages in system locations that do not require administrator access and affect only the user installing it, thus all the users of a PC can install the package and run any new software. Furthermore, it does not need any root password to install the software on a PC.

How to use Zero Install on your PC

• Just download the required version from 0install and install it on your computer system. It won’t take more than a few seconds to install if you have a decent speed internet connection.
• Zero Install has a big collection of apps in ‘Catalogue’ where you can look and run any app without installing it on your system.
• If you like any application, you can add it to the list of ‘My Applications’ for easy access next time.
• You can also add any new application to the list.

Zero Install identifies all packages from URLs, and there is no centralized distribution repository to store the cache. When you install a different version of any software, it shares a library and both files are stored parallel in the library. Each downloaded program is stored in its own cache directory within the Zero Install program. It also checks for updates automatically whenever you run the software and receives the latest software versions automatically without any reinstall or restart.

Zero Install defies an XML metadata format that can be used on multiple platforms like Mac OS X, FreeBSD, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, and Windows. You can download it here.