This is a note on how to silently install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) via command (PowerShell).

SSMS is a tool most people use to administer SQL Server and to run SQL queries. If you need to install SSMS many times or on multiple computers, you may want to use the silent installation feature when automating the process.

This ‘silent‘ installation allows you to install SSMS without any user interaction, making it quick and easy to deploy on multiple computers. In this demo, we are using the Standard Microsoft Installer Command-Line Quiet Option (/q).

How to Silently Install SSMS

To perform a silent installation of SSMS, you will need a copy of the SSMS installation files.
You can download SSMS from this link here: SSMS Download (Microsoft Docs)

Open Windows Terminal or any command prompt for PowerShell as Administrator and navigate to the directory where you have the SSMS installation files downloaded. Then run the msi exec command as shown:

# Navigate to directory with ssms download
cd ssms
gci

# Install SSMS (silently)
.\SSMS-Setup-ENU.exe /q

The only parameter being used here is /q which specifies that the installation should be performed silently. So SSMS will install in the background and your terminal prompt will return to a command-ready state when the installation has been completed.

SSMS will be installed silently on the host and be ready for use. That should be all there is to this one. Feel free to check out the SSMS Tips Tag for more useful information about this application.