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This page covers how to silently remove Grunt from Windows machines in managed deployment scenarios such as Intune or SCCM.

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The version mismatch problem

The standard MSI uninstall command requires the exact MSI file that was used to install Grunt: 
msiexec /x grunt-<version>-x64.msi /qn
This works only as long as the installed version matches the MSI file. If a user updates Grunt through the built-in updater, the installed ProductCode changes and the uninstall command for the old version no longer matches. The result is a silent failure — the uninstall exits without removing anything.

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Version-independent uninstall using UpgradeCode

The reliable approach is to look up the currently installed Grunt package by its UpgradeCode and uninstall the matching ProductCode. The UpgradeCode stays the same across all Grunt versions, so this method works regardless of which version the user is running.

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Grunt UpgradeCode

ArchitectureUpgradeCode
x64{E98C1BF9-9AF8-47CF-940B-14F8937CED83}

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PowerShell script

The following script finds and uninstalls the installed Grunt package using the Windows Installer COM object: 
$upgradeCode = "{E98C1BF9-9AF8-47CF-940B-14F8937CED83}"
$installer = New-Object -ComObject WindowsInstaller.Installer
$relatedProducts = @($installer.RelatedProducts($upgradeCode))

foreach ($productCode in $relatedProducts) {
    Start-Process "msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList "/x $productCode /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress" -Wait
}
This script:
  1. Queries the Windows Installer database for any product registered under the Grunt UpgradeCode
  2. Retrieves the ProductCode of the installed version
  3. Runs msiexec /x against that ProductCode to perform a silent uninstall
Because Grunt uses a per-user installation model by default, this script must run in the user context. If you are using PSADT, use Execute-ProcessAsUser (v3) or Start-ADTMsiProcessAsUser (v4) to run the uninstall as the logged-in user.

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PSADT v3 example

# Save the script to a temporary location
$uninstallScript = @'
$upgradeCode = "{E98C1BF9-9AF8-47CF-940B-14F8937CED83}"
$installer = New-Object -ComObject WindowsInstaller.Installer
$relatedProducts = @($installer.RelatedProducts($upgradeCode))
foreach ($productCode in $relatedProducts) {
    Start-Process "msiexec.exe" -ArgumentList "/x $productCode /qn REBOOT=ReallySuppress" -Wait
}
'@

$scriptPath = "$envProgramData\Grunt_Uninstall\Uninstall-Grunt.ps1"
New-Item -Path (Split-Path $scriptPath) -ItemType Directory -Force
$uninstallScript | Set-Content -Path $scriptPath -Force

Execute-ProcessAsUser -Path "powershell.exe" -Parameters "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File `"$scriptPath`"" -Wait

Remove-Folder -Path "$envProgramData\Grunt_Uninstall\"

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Why not uninstall by MSI file

Uninstalling with msiexec /x <file>.msi ties the uninstall to a specific Grunt version. If the user has updated Grunt since the original deployment, the MSI file no longer matches the installed product and the uninstall silently fails. The UpgradeCode approach avoids this by dynamically resolving the correct ProductCode at uninstall time.

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Manual uninstall

Users can always remove Grunt through Settings > Apps > Installed apps (Windows 11) or Control Panel > Programs and Features (Windows 10). This works regardless of version because Windows resolves the correct uninstaller automatically.