What's the default SourceTree installation folder on Windows 10?
Asked by Michael_Ryan:

I'm running SourceTree on Windows 10, and it wants to install an update. I just noticed that it's currently installed under "Program Files (x86)", but it looks like this is a 64-bit application.

Should the software instead be installed under "Program Files" where 64-bit software is usually installed?

Should a new SourceTree install automatically default to the 64-bit folder?


Answers:
author: Don Turrentine
body: I just installed SourceTree (64-bit for Windows) on two separate Windows 10 systems that have been updated to the latest version.

The default installation path seems to be:

C:\\Users\\\*\*\*my user name\*\*\*\\AppData\\Local\\SourceTree

comments: author: mahdielmasaoudi
body: In addition to the above, the program is **not even in the Windows\>start** . I don't understand how do your people think ...


author: Marek Hanobik
body: You can find it in Atlassian folder in ProgramFiles


author: sadriabi
body: No you can't. I am looking and no Atlassian folder there.


author: Don Turrentine
body: [@sadriabi](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/2624668) Did you look in the path I suggested above?

C:\\Users\\*username*\\AppData\\Local\\SourceTree

If you don't see it in Local, you may be using a different sort of profile, (Roaming, etc) and you could try looking in those.


author: Justin W_
body: Don't answer helped me. Very unintuitive on Windows - I'd expect it to be in the start menu under either Atlassian or Sourcetree, but it isn't.


author: Stephen Dunn
body: WOW! I'm always amazed that "professionals" can just get this so badly wrong. I had to look up where the hell SourceTree was?! How is this a thing? And how it's hidden in my appdata profile.. because that makes complete sense?!


author: aujang
body: I cannot \*believe\* this program does not install to Program Files. This might be the most unintuitive and inexplicable way of designing an installer I've ever seen. How exactly am I supposed to run the program after I restart? It's not in the Start Menu. It's not on the Desktop. And it's not in Program Files. I literally thought it had uninstalled itself until I tried to install again and it opened my local app.


author: seanwfreeman
body: This is absolutely bonkers. How on earth is this not installed to the start menu and/or desktop when it is installed? This is an incredibly poor design decision.


author: Baruch.Isaac
body: I found the exe. in the download folder


author: minnsey
body: Sourcetree uses an installer process that explicitly does not require admin rights, Squirrel for Windows  
<https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows>  

It des this by installing to the AppData folder.   

This approach is used by a number of other high profile applications.  

<https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/dotnetConf/2015/Squirrel-for-Windows-installing-NET-apps-the-way-it-should-be>


author: Bittsitt
body: There is no exe found in the AppData folder, and it does not show up in the start menu. I think there is a bug somewhere on your side...


author: seanwfreeman
body: I'm on board with installing it somewhere that doesn't need admin privileges; I think that's a great step. What I struggle with is the decision to leave it out of the start menu, the search bar, and the desktop. Is there not a way to include it on one of those three without requiring admin privileges?

I tried to show this to a colleague who uses windows and they couldn't find it; so I tried it myself and ran into the same issue until I googled and found this thread. I think this will hurt adoption by Windows users, which is a real shame since the app on Windows is great.


author: andikurnia
body: Hello, I think I've also got this issue. Source Tree can't be found everywhere.  
- Windows 10 Search can't find sourcetree executable file  
- No Shortcut at Start Menu


author: Gono
body: [@andikurnia](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/2234095) check your AppData\\Local\\SourceTree folder


author: Paul_Sammut
body: MAKE A SHORTCUT SO PEOPLE CAN OPEN THE PROGRAM YOU JOKERS [@minnsey](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/502201)


author: Bert_Whetstone
body: [@minnsey](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/502201) Installing in AppData, okay whatever, but what is the rationality behind not providing any shortcuts in the taskbar, desktop, anywhere?


author: minnsey
body: Disclaimer: I no longer work on the Sourcetree project.  

Sourcetree *should* be creating shortcuts.  
That process is handled by the installer <https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows>  
In the past there have been issues in Squirrel with creating the shortcut   
<https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows/issues?q=is%3Aissue+taskbar+>  

When I was working on the project these issues appeared to be resolved, we could not reproduce them via internal testing, and it appeared to work for the majority of users.  

However as usual it is entirely possible we were missing some nuance with the environments of users for whom it didn't/wasn't working.  

in these cases manually adding a shortcut to the executable in AppData\\Local\\SourceTree should allow you to run the app.


author: andikurnia
body: [@Gono](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3752097) yap, I found that installation folder, but it seems with latest installer, sourcetree didn't create shortcut which can be accessed via windows 10 start menu / search and that's the problem here.  

[@minnsey](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/502201) ah, I see. thank you for information


author: PiotrWu
body: You can open sourcetree by running installer, if sourcetree is installed it will open the app. Then if you can't find it on your drive -\> go to task manager, find sourcetree, from context menu pick go for details. If you're in details tab, under context menu hit go to file location. This works for win10.


author: jrb9249
body: Quick question: which of the 495 executables in the %AppData%/Local/Atlassian/SourceTree folder is the SourceTree program that you've so effectively hidden on my computer?


author: Fabian_Quosdorf
body: [@minnsey](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/502201)Thanks for the clarification here. Because the issue with the missing Start Menu Link is also happening in our company (Windows 10 Pro Build 1909), I investigated a bit.

There seems to be a very old Bug in Squirrel that has not yet been resolved.  
<https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows/issues/411>

Just to be absoutely sure that the sourcetree installer is build with the correct settings:  
Can you confirm that you are using the following?

    _updateManager.CreateShortcutsForExecutable(executableFilename, ShortcutLocation.StartMenu, updateOnly

Thanks,

Fabian


author: Gono
body: > Should the software instead be installed under "Program Files" where 64-bit software is usually installed?

Yes, of course!
> Should a new SourceTree install automatically default to the 64-bit folder?

Yes, of course!

Everyone would expect both things and its quite remarkable how in ?F?e?b?r?u?a?r?y? April 2020 this is still relevant and remain unfixed.  
I wonder how Atlassian came up with such a great idea...

comments: author: minnsey
body: Sourcetree uses an installer process that explicitly does not require admin rights, Squirrel for Windows  
<https://github.com/Squirrel/Squirrel.Windows>  

It des this by installing to the AppData folder.   

This approach is used by a number of other high profile applications.  

<https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/dotnetConf/2015/Squirrel-for-Windows-installing-NET-apps-the-way-it-should-be>  


author: Pedro Chavez
body: This decision made our entire team abandon Sourcetree. We're now switching to Fork.


author: Drizztdourden_
body: using something doesn't mean it's the right way to do it. Because a lot of people do it means it's the right way? Cut the crap seriously.

Your method is obviously bad no matter what approach you're using here. Installing something and leaving users in the void no knowing what happened to their software they just installed and needing to ask google to know the answer? How is that a good approach?

I have never seen such an evasive answer to such a simple problem. Do like everyone else and code a proper installer for it or make it easily available to the users on their desktop, the start menu, the taskbar... whatever works.


author: Gono
body: [@minnsey](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/502201) No one is syndicating the technology itself used by your team, of course you can use whatever you want, but it should be quite clear that problem here is about user experience.  

Understanding that for a big part of the community this is not the standard way (and I'm sure that also for some of your colleagues is so) is crucial, and frankly I can't believe that this just happened without anyone raising its hand and saying "Hey guys, maybe we should at least indicate the installation path in the last step of the installer?"


author: gokhansolak
body: I installed SourceTree on Windows 10 and I can't find the program to run! It didn't create a shortcut or anything, writing SourceTree in the start menu does not bring anything. What a bad decision! I need to run the program by the installer file each time? Then it forgets my keys in the Putty...


author: Aaron Hamilton
body: Wow SourceTree, I think your product team needs to rethink how this is done. Why doesn't the installer work like every other one that asks the user whether to install for all users (with Windows UAC/admin request) or current user?

If Squirrel makes this impossible, maybe it's time to find a different installer that doesn't suck.


author: Drew_Loika
body: Atlassian, ++this is nuts++ . I should not have to search the web and read a many-post community thread to figure out **how to launch your software**.

comments: author: Drizztdourden_
body: This is funny how many users created an account just to complain about this.

At least I don't feel as dumb as I did when I wasn't finding it.


author: DaxInvader
body: I agree with most people here. On some machines, it is visible on the start menu when typing "SourceTree" and on other, only the setup exe file shows up. It does not make sense. It should prompt an install location. When you run the setup again, it simply starts sourcetree. Its unintuitive.  

The "high profile" applications mentioned are still showing up in the start menu at least. Why is this one different? I love sourcetree, but it's getting on my nerve ever since it is now mandatory to have a bitbucket account.


author: RonA
body: so what's the bottom line here?

i installed sourcetree. there is no item in startup menu. no icon on desktop. it cannot be found.

no folder in program files. i can find it in appdata, but no exe file or anything 'runnable'.

how am i supposed to run it? Why are you guys making it so difficult?


author: Michael_Ryan
body: Why the down-vote? How is this not a legitimate question?

I am wondering if SourceTree was previously a 32-bit application and therefore installed to "Program Files (x86)", and later in-app upgrades just left it there even though it's now a 64-bit application, or whether it always installs to that folder even on brand new (clean) systems.

comments: author: Mark Good
body: Totally legitimate question. In 2020, it installs to \\Users\\\<user\>\\AppData\\Local and no icon anywhere to be found. AppData is usually hidden. WTH!?

I just uninstalled SoureTree.


author: TechnoCoderz
body: Ummm, the installer doesn't even create a shortcut on the desktop, nor does it create an Atlassian programs group under the Start menu.


author: JOEL DENNIS
body: I found both Atlassian and Sourcetree folders in my AppData/Local. The SourceTree exe is in AppData/Local/SourceTree. This was extremely frustrating. Thank you all for the previous answers that led to my finally finding the application.


author: Daniel_Scott
body: Whatever the rationale is for this ridiculous design decision, I hope it warrants the pain you are causing your users.  

A source control experience should feel reliable and logical.  

<br />


author: Lisa_Von_Schlegell
body: OMFW. AppData. OMFW.


author: Monica
body: Yes very unprofessional installation!!!!!

Why they want to hide the .exe in an unusual place?


author: Jim_Randell
body: This is crazy, just installed, exited, then wanted back in...but COULD NOT FIND THE BLOODY EXE!

You shouldn't need to do a web search to find a program's executable, its nuts!

comments: author: Daniel_Scott
body: It's bonkers in 2020.


author: Louis Kurian
body: *C:\\Users\\\<username\>\\AppData\\Local\\SourceTree\\**app-3.3.8*** if the installed version is **3.3.8** . The folder **app-3.3.8** has sourcetree.exe

comments: author: Alison Peck
body: Thank you. This is all I needed. Would be great if it just happened, but it doesn't... I now just need to get on with learning how to us it instead of running the installation repeatedly to open it. :-)


author: Aaron Hamilton
body: Does anyone have a link to an older version that works properly? How did this even make it past QA?

comments: author: Daniel_Scott
body: What's QA?


author: konstalainen
body: Use this PowerShell script to create the shortcut. :)

<https://gist.github.com/am9417/a10e11605b932723f153cdb83d91639f>

```


<#
    Atlassian SourceTree installer does not create any shortcuts.
    EXE is located somewhere, and it's not easily accessible.
    Testing PowerShell scripts to create a shortcut under Start Menu / Programs...

    Copyright 2020 Antti Konsta Kustaa

    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
    You may obtain a copy of the License at
        
        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.    
    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
    limitations under the License.
#>

# Gets the path of AppData\Local folder, e.g. C:\Users\MyUser\AppData\Local
$LocalAppData = (Get-ChildItem Env:LOCALAPPDATA).Value
# The SourceTree should be installed here...
$Target = $LocalAppData + "\SourceTree\SourceTree.exe"

# Path to e.g. C:\Users\MyUser\AppData\Roaming, that contains the Program menu folder
$Roaming = (Get-ChildItem Env:APPDATA).Value
$Programs = $Roaming + "\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs"
$Folder = $Programs + "\Atlassian"

# Check that Atlassian subdirectory folder is in Programs menu, otherwise create it
# If the directory doesn't exist, creating the shortcut will fail
if (!(Test-Path -Path $Folder)) {
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $Folder
}

$Shortcut = $Folder + "\SourceTree.lnk"

# The magic happens here...
$ws = New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell;
$S = $ws.CreateShortcut($Shortcut);
$S.TargetPath = $Target;
$S.Save()
```


author: Debojyoti Chatterjee
body: I had installed Sourcetree to try it later... then I forgot about the app because there was no desktop icon or anything else... after a month i read another atlassian article that mentioned sourcetree...i tried finding it on my system and now I am here... This needs to be fixed, at least provide it in the context menu by default. that would help the users


author: Zod
body: This was so dumb. Really gives you a very bad impression of Atlassian. The power shell script posted works and you can open source source tree from windows search bar. Question is, if its that simple why couldn't Atlassian do it themselves?

comments: author: konstalainen
body: Yep. The point that I tried to make posting that script was to show that if I can do it with a 1 of work, why is it not then done automatically?


author: Bert_Whetstone
body: The thing is, I'm pretty sure prior SourceTree installs used to provide the shortcuts. I use SourceTree at work and I don't recall having to search my whole file system to find the executable and set up my own shortcuts. Only when I installed it at home a week or so ago did I have to search for it.  

What I'm wondering is, is this just an oversight in the previous release, to be remedied in upcoming releases? Or is this some new minimalist philosophy making the rounds at Atlassian?  

It's interesting that at least one former Atlassian employee seems to think installing executables into the AppData directory is a perfectly normal practice, one followed by major application vendors. So far the only other vendor I have evidence of doing this is Steam. Many applications do, as you would expect, store user-specific data in AppData. This sense that storing executables in AppData is somehow normal is probably part of the culture at Atlassian, upheld by the fact that one major vendor does follow this practice.  

In any case I have nothing against Sourcetree or Atlassian. Their products are good, it's just very puzzling that they appear to have this odd internal culture surrounding the AppData directory.