Get-UninstallRegistryKey

Retrieve registry key(s) for system-installed applications from an exact or wildcard search.

Syntax

Get-UninstallRegistryKey `
  -SoftwareName <String> `
  [-IgnoredArguments <Object[]>] [<CommonParameters>]

Description

This function will attempt to retrieve a matching registry key for an already installed application, usually to be used with a chocolateyUninstall.ps1 automation script.

The function also prevents Get-ItemProperty from failing when handling wrongly encoded registry keys.

Aliases

Get-InstallRegistryKey

Examples

EXAMPLE 1

# Version match: Software name is "Gpg4Win (2.3.0)"
[array]$key = Get-UninstallRegistryKey -SoftwareName "Gpg4win (*)"
$key.UninstallString

EXAMPLE 2

# Fuzzy match: Software name is "Launchy 2.5"
[array]$key = Get-UninstallRegistryKey -SoftwareName "Launchy*"
$key.UninstallString

EXAMPLE 3

# Exact match: Software name in Programs and Features is "VLC media player"
[array]$key = Get-UninstallRegistryKey -SoftwareName "VLC media player"
$key.UninstallString

EXAMPLE 4

#  Version match: Software name is "SketchUp 2016"
# Note that the similar software name "SketchUp Viewer" would not be matched.
[array]$key = Get-UninstallRegistryKey -SoftwareName "SketchUp [0-9]*"
$key.UninstallString

Inputs

None

Outputs

• This function searches registry objects and returns an array of PSCustomObject with the matched key's properties.
• Retrieve properties with dot notation, for example: $key.UninstallString

Parameters

-SoftwareName <String>

Part or all of the Display Name as you see it in Programs and Features. It should be enough to be unique. The syntax follows the rules of the PowerShell -like operator, so the * character is interpreted as a wildcard, which matches any (zero or more) characters.

If the display name contains a version number, such as "Launchy (2.5)", it is recommended you use a fuzzy search "Launchy (*)" (the wildcard *) so if Launchy auto-updates or is updated outside of Chocolatey, the uninstall script will not fail.

Take care not to abuse fuzzy/glob pattern searches. Be conscious of programs that may have shared or common root words to prevent overmatching. For example, "SketchUp*" would match two keys with software names "SketchUp 2016" and "SketchUp Viewer" that are different programs released by the same company.

-IgnoredArguments [<Object[]>]

Allows splatting with arguments that do not apply. Do not use directly.

<CommonParameters>

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Verbose, -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -OutBuffer, and -OutVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=113216 .

Links

• Install-ChocolateyPackage
• Install-ChocolateyInstallPackage
• Uninstall-ChocolateyPackage

Function Reference

:choco-info: NOTE

This documentation has been automatically generated from Import-Module "$env:ChocolateyInstall\helpers\chocolateyInstaller.psm1" -Force; Get-Help Get-UninstallRegistryKey -Full.

View the source for Get-UninstallRegistryKey