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Use this guide when you deploy Grunt in a managed environment.
The current Grunt release is a self-contained .NET 9 COM add-in. It bundles its own runtime and has no external runtime prerequisites.

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Installation models

Grunt supports two main Windows deployment models:
  • Per-user installation in the user’s local profile
  • Per-machine installation in Program Files
The default per-user install is the standard choice for most users and organizations. It does not usually require admin rights and enables auto-updates by default.
  • Windows 10 or Windows 11
  • PowerPoint 2016 or later (Microsoft 365 recommended)
  • The default x64 installer for most environments, or arm64 for Windows on ARM devices

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Default per-user installation

The standard installer from app.grunt.pro/download installs Grunt to: 
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Grunt\
This mode:
  • Writes user-level registry entries under HKEY_CURRENT_USER
  • Does not normally require elevated privileges
  • Registers the Grunt COM add-in with PowerPoint
  • Enables automatic updates by default unless your organization disables them centrally
To keep this install model but disable automatic installation, set the per-user updateStrategy registry value. See Update management.

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Command-line installation

Use per-machine installation when your environment blocks per-user installs or when IT wants to control updates through deployment tooling. Grunt installs per machine to: 
C:\Program Files\Grunt
Example command: 
msiexec /i grunt-<version>-x64.msi MSIINSTALLPERUSER=0 /qn
This mode:
  • Requires admin rights
  • Writes machine-level registry entries under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
  • Disables Grunt auto-updates by design
  • Fits SCCM, Intune, and similar software deployment systems

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Managed deployment tools

You can deploy Grunt with common software distribution platforms such as Intune, SCCM, or similar tooling. These rollouts normally use the per-machine model above. You can also deploy the default per-user installer through Intune or another MDM tool when the assignment runs in the user’s Windows context. This keeps Grunt under %LOCALAPPDATA%, writes settings to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, and preserves the per-user update model.

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Prerequisites

Grunt is self-contained and bundles its own .NET runtime. There are no external runtime prerequisites to install on the target machine.

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Common blockers

If deployment fails during install or first launch:
  • Check whether Office add-ins are blocked by policy.
  • Check whether endpoint protection is blocking Grunt binaries. The primary binary to allowlist is Grunt.PowerPoint.ComAddinNE.dll in the Grunt install directory.
  • If Windows reports a certificate trust issue, install the signer certificate into Trusted Publishers or incorporate that trust step into your deployment process.

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Validate deployment

After rollout:
  1. Open PowerPoint on a test machine.
  2. Confirm the Grunt tab appears.
  3. Confirm users can open Grunt > Settings > License.
  4. Confirm the expected update behavior matches the install model you selected.