InstallAnywhere .iap_xml Query Patterns

<when_to_use>

Load this skill when working with any .iap_xml file — auditing install actions, listing file copy operations, discovering variables, finding platform-specific branches, or comparing two installer variants (e.g., RA vs NON_RA builds).

</when_to_use>

Operational Constraints

• Always pass -i xml explicitly — auto-detection fails on .iap_xml extensions
• Write all intermediate results to /tmp/ — never to the source tree
• Files are 2.5–2.6 MB, 65,000+ lines — use structural dasel queries, never read the file into context

Root Structure

InstallAnywhere .iap_xml files have a fixed root path: InstallAnywhere.project.

# Top-level element names at the document root
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'keys($this)'

# Navigate to the install action sequence
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'InstallAnywhere.project.installSequence'

# Children of the project node
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'InstallAnywhere.project.keys($this)'

Recursive descent — finds elements at any depth without knowing the full path:

# All elements named "action" at any depth
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action'

# All elements named "panel" at any depth
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..panel'

# Any node at any depth where a specific attribute exists
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'search(has("-name"))'

..elementName descends recursively. search(predicate) matches nodes at any depth.

Action Sequence Analysis

# All action names in execution order
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action.map("-name")'

# All action types
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action.map("-type")'

# Count all action elements
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'len(..action)'

# Write for analysis
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action.map("-name")' > /tmp/action_names.txt
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action.map("-type")' > /tmp/action_types.txt

Variable Discovery

# All variable definitions
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..variable.map("-name")' > /tmp/installer_vars.txt

Platform Conditions

# All platform conditions (Windows vs Linux branches)
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'search(has("-platform")).map("-platform")' > /tmp/platforms.txt

Cross-Variant Comparison

When comparing two builds of the same installer (e.g., RA vs NON_RA, Windows vs Linux variant):

# Compare action sets between two installer files
cat installer_a.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action.map("-name")' | sort > /tmp/actions_a.txt
cat installer_b.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action.map("-name")' | sort > /tmp/actions_b.txt
diff /tmp/actions_a.txt /tmp/actions_b.txt > /tmp/installer_diff.txt

# Compare panel sets
cat installer_a.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..panel.map("-name")' | sort > /tmp/panels_a.txt
cat installer_b.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..panel.map("-name")' | sort > /tmp/panels_b.txt
diff /tmp/panels_a.txt /tmp/panels_b.txt

File Copy Operations

# All file copy sources
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..installFile.map("-source")' > /tmp/file_copies.txt

Panel Navigation

# Panel names and count
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..panel.map("-name")'
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'len(..panel)'

Attribute Syntax Reference

XML attributes use - prefix in dasel friendly mode:

# Access specific attribute on first match
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action[0].-name'

# Discover attributes and children of a node
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..action[0].keys($this)'

# Extract attribute values across all matching nodes
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml '..elementName.map("-attributeName")'

# Count matching elements
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'len(..elementName)'

# Search with attribute predicate at any depth
cat installer.iap_xml | dasel -i xml 'search(has("-attributeName"))'