Connection Client Generator Command Line Reference

ClientGenerator.exe supports two silent (non-interactive) command-line modes:

1. Generation mode — creates a new .connect client file from scratch.
2. Edit mode ( -edit ) — edits an existing .connect file and writes the result to a new file.

The mode is selected automatically based on whether the -edit flag is present.

Generation mode

Creates a new .connect client file.

Syntax

ClientGenerator.exe -name "clientname.connect" [-location "output folder"] -server my.server.com -user login -psw password [...]

Parameters

Example

ClientGenerator.exe -name "clientname.connect" -server my.server.com -server 127.0.0.1 -user login -psw password

Edit mode

Edits an existing .connect file (input) and writes the modified result to a new .connect file (output). Requires the -edit flag.

Syntax

ClientGenerator.exe -edit -path "input file path" -output "output file path" [-user user] [-psw psw] [-domain domain] [-mode remoteapp|remotedesktop]

Parameters

Example

ClientGenerator.exe -edit -path "C:\Clients\template.connect" -output "C:\Clients\output.connect" -user jdoe -mode remoteapp

Exit codes

PowerShell usage examples

Generate a single client

& ".\ClientGenerator.exe" -name "clientname.connect" -server "my.server.com" -user "login" -psw "password"

Generate multiple clients in a loop (from a CSV list)

Given a clients.csv file:

Name,Server,User,Password
marie.connect,srv01.company.com,marie,P@ssw0rd1
edgar.connect,srv02.company.com,edgar,P@ssw0rd2
rose.connect,srv03.company.com,rose,P@ssw0rd3

$clients = Import-Csv -Path ".\clients.csv"

foreach ($client in $clients) {
    Write-Host "Generating client: $($client.Name)"

    & ".\ClientGenerator.exe" `
        -name $client.Name `
        -server $client.Server `
        -user $client.User `
        -psw $client.Password

    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        Write-Warning "Generation failed for $($client.Name) (exit code $LASTEXITCODE)"
    }
}

Generate clients for a range of usernames

$server = "my.server.com"

1..10 | ForEach-Object {
    $user = "user{0:D2}" -f $_
    $name = "$user.connect"

    Write-Host "Generating client for $user..."

    & ".\ClientGenerator.exe" -name $name -server $server -user $user -psw "TempP@ss123"
}

Edit multiple existing .connect files in a loop

Applies the same domain and mode update to every .connect file in a folder.

$inputFolder  = "C:\Clients\ToUpdate"
$outputFolder = "C:\Clients\Updated"

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $outputFolder -Force | Out-Null

Get-ChildItem -Path $inputFolder -Filter "*.connect" | ForEach-Object {
    $outputPath = Join-Path $outputFolder $_.Name

    Write-Host "Editing: $($_.Name)"

    & ".\ClientGenerator.exe" `
        -edit `
        -path $_.FullName `
        -output $outputPath `
        -domain "CORP" `
        -mode "remoteapp"

    if ($LASTEXITCODE -eq 0) {
        Write-Host "  -> Success" -ForegroundColor Green
    } else {
        Write-Warning "  -> Failed (exit code $LASTEXITCODE)"
    }
}

Edit clients with per-file settings (from CSV)

Given an edits.csv file:

InputPath,OutputPath,User,Mode
C:\Clients\a.connect,C:\Clients\a-updated.connect,alice,remoteapp
C:\Clients\b.connect,C:\Clients\b-updated.connect,bob,remotedesktop

$edits = Import-Csv -Path ".\edits.csv"

foreach ($edit in $edits) {
    & ".\ClientGenerator.exe" `
        -edit `
        -path $edit.InputPath `
        -output $edit.OutputPath `
        -user $edit.User `
        -mode $edit.Mode

    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        Write-Warning "Failed to edit $($edit.InputPath)"
    }
}

Note: $LASTEXITCODE is only reliable immediately after a native executable call. Avoid running other commands between the ClientGenerator.exe call and the check.