Detailed Configuration Reference

EASYDEPLOY reads configuration from two JSON files.

1. system-config.json — System Configuration

This file is located alongside easydeploy.exe in the release package, and is baked into boot.wim by BootBuilder when building the USB.

Its role is to define the system’s core functions: display labels, rescue tool paths, the OS Catalog (BYOC), telemetry (BYOB), and the preshared-key for profile decryption. This file cannot be edited at runtime (it lives inside boot.wim) — to change it, edit before building and let BootBuilder package the new version.

Advanced keys (Self-catalog/BYOB/Encryption/ZeroTouch) are only for MSP Advanced — on Free, these are ignored at runtime. The catalog works fully on every tier (see the table below).

{
  "_comment": "EASYDEPLOY configuration — edit this file to custom labels, and tool paths without recompiling.",
  "labels": {
    "flow1Title": "SETUP WINDOWS [DEFAULT]",
    "flow1Desc": "Clean install Windows operating system",
    "flow2Title": "SETUP WINDOWS [BUSINESS]",
    "flow2Desc": "Deploy Windows OS with business profile",
    "aboutInfo": "EASYDEPLOY | Business Windows Deployment …",
    "toolMultiDriveLabel": "DISK BACKUP",
    "toolExplorerLabel": "FILE EXPLORER",
    "toolHwInfoLabel": "HARDWARE INFO",
    "toolBrowserLabel": "WEB BROWSER"
  },
  "toolPaths": {
    "multiDrive": "MultiDrive\\MultiDrive.exe",
    "explorer": "Explorer++\\Explorer++.exe",
    "hwInfo": "HWInfo\\HWINFO64.exe",
    "browser": "Palemoon\\Palemoon.exe"
  },
  "behavior": {
    "defaultWifiSsid": "",
    "defaultWifiPassword": "",
    "deployLogCSV": true
  },
  "catalog": {
    "url": "https://esd.coresystem.vn/data.json",
    "timeoutSeconds": 30,
    "downloadMethod": "auto",
    "cloudCatalog": true,
    "filterCatalog": true
  },
  "telemetry": {
    "enabled": false,
    "endpoint": "",
    "apiKey": "",
    "reportDeployment": true
  },
  "profileEncryption": {
    "enabled": false,
    "passphrase": ""
  }
}

Key Structure	Purpose	On Free
labels	Labels for the 2 main installation flows, rescue function buttons, and the About dialog.	✅ Effective (edit before build — see note below)
toolPaths	Relative paths to rescue tools — resolved automatically under Softwares\ on the USB. Serves as the fallback value: used only when user-config.json does not declare portableApps.	✅ Effective (edit before build)
behavior	Default WiFi (defaultWifiSsid/defaultWifiPassword) + deployLogCSV.	✅ Effective (edit before build)
catalog	OS Catalog source (url/timeoutSeconds/downloadMethod/cloudCatalog/filterCatalog). Always-fallback design: url points to the catalog operated by CoreSystem — if it goes down (rare), the engine switches to the embedded catalog. cloudCatalog:true = prioritize cloud; filterCatalog:true = OS Configurator only shows `Home	Pro
telemetry	BYOB telemetry (enabled/endpoint/apiKey).	⚠️ Ignored — only CSV log on USB
profileEncryption	Profile encryption (enabled/passphrase).	⚠️ Ignored

Note

On Free, the advanced keys (telemetry, profileEncryption, and a self-hosted url — Self-catalog/BYOC) are ignored at runtime: the system uses CoreSystem’s cloud catalog with embedded fallback and logs CSV on the USB. Details about Self-catalog/BYOB/Encryption/ZeroTouch are in the technical documentation bundled with the MSP Advanced .lic.

Note

What does “edit before build” mean? Because system-config.json is baked into boot.wim at build time, the effective keys (labels/toolPaths/behavior) must be edited before running BootBuilder — BootBuilder packages the new version into the USB. Editing the file inside boot.wim after the build has no effect.

1.1. License Verification — Offline License (sole method)

Simply place the *.lic file (issued by CoreSystem) into EASYDEPLOY\ on the USB — the client automatically verifies the ECDSA signature + USB-SN binding + license tier locally.

Note

system-config.json is baked into boot.wim by BootBuilder at build time — the version shown here belongs to the CoreSystem release. Focus on customizing user-config.json on the USB. Rescue tools are located via [drive_letter]:\Softwares\<toolPaths>.

2. user-config.json — Customer Deployment Configuration

File location: [USB]:\EASYDEPLOY\user-config.json.

It contains default installation parameters and deployment customizations.

Each customer/MSP partner uses their own .lic license file on their USB.

{
  "enableF3Express": true,         // enable Express mode (F3)
  "zeroTouch": false,              // Advanced only — ignored on Free
  "deploy": {
    "version": "25h2",
    "edition": "Pro",
    "activation": "Retail",
    "languageCode": "en-us",
    "diskNumber": 0,
    "profile": "1.Tweaks"
  },
  "portableApps": { … },           // overrides toolPaths
  "toolMultiDriveLabel": "DISK BACKUP",   // overrides tool label
  "toolExplorerLabel": "FILE EXPLORER",
  "toolHwInfoLabel": "HARDWARE INFO",
  "toolBrowserLabel": "WEB BROWSER"
}

Key Structure	Purpose	On Free
enableF3Express	Enable/disable Express mode (F3).	✅ Effective
zeroTouch	Boot USB → auto-run Express (zeroTouch:true). MSP Advanced only.	⚠️ Ignored
deploy.version	OS version in OSCatalog (e.g., 25h2). Resolves to the latest build automatically if multiple builds share the same version.	✅ Effective
deploy.activation	Home → Retail; Enterprise → Volume; Pro → choose Retail or Volume. Incorrect selection → incorrect installation.	✅
portableApps / tool*Label	Override rescue tool paths or button labels. When not declared, the system falls back to the values in system-config.json.	✅
deploy.profile	Profile name for Express (1.Tweaks/2.TweaksApp). Free is hard-coded to 2 profiles — creating 3.Acme will be ignored. To use a custom profile on Free: overwrite the contents of one of the two original folders (keeping the exact names 1.Tweaks/2.TweaksApp) — other folder names are ignored.	⚠️ Only 1.Tweaks/2.TweaksApp are effective

Caution

Fallback design — portableApps/toolPaths: the system is designed to always have a fallback value in every situation — a missing user-config.json (or missing keys) falls back to system-config.json. In practice, however, without user-config.json, Express Deploy and MSP-owned portable app licenses are nearly useless — always check this file before handing a USB to a customer.

Note

Portable apps are not included in the release package. The 4 tools in the default configuration (MultiDrive, HWiNFO64, Explorer++, Pale Moon) are reference design choices only — the .zip from the Download page does not contain these applications. MSPs/IT bring their own tools and add them to the USB in one of two ways:

1. At ISO build time — via BootBuilder: copy the software into usb\Softwares\ before building.
2. Manual copy after building: drop the tools into Softwares\ on the USB and declare portableApps in user-config.json — if you keep the same folder structure as the default toolPaths, no declaration is needed.

The main window only reserves 4 quick-launch buttons (EasyDeploy is a deployment tool first — rescue is a supporting role); labels and footer hotkeys adjust automatically to your configuration. There’s no limit on tool count — anything beyond the 4 slots runs via F6 (PowerShell)/F8 (Explorer)/cmd.

Note

License verification is Offline License only. Place *.lic in [USB]:\EASYDEPLOY\. See details at Offline Mode.

3. Catalog data.json — Valid Operating System List

The Catalog is a list of valid Windows Images (downloaded from Microsoft’s official distribution channel).

CoreSystem hosts it at https://esd.coresystem.vn/data.json. Declared via catalog.url in system-config.json.

When WinPE boots, the system automatically downloads the list and caches it at X:\EasyDeploy\catalog.json.

Note

Catalog source depends on the cloudCatalog flag: the client only fetches from the cloud when catalog.cloudCatalog = true. When false, no network call is made — the embedded catalog in the exe (data.json) is used. Useful when an MSP wants to pin the OS list.

MSP Advanced can self-host data.json (details in the technical docs bundled with the .lic). Free uses CoreSystem’s cloud catalog — the embedded catalog is always the fallback.

General flow: download → cache → fallback to embedded when offline.

Each catalog entry:

{
  "build": "26200.8873",          // build number
  "version": "25h2",              // version (e.g., 25h2, 24h2)
  "fileName": "26200.8873…en-us.esd",   // file name — must match offline file on USB
  "languageCode": "en-us",
  "architecture": "x64",           // primary platform x86_64
  "activation": "Retail",         // or Volume
  "size": 5895987847,
  "sizeGB": 5.5,
  "hash": "3fc7cbe5…",            // SHA-256 for download/offline verification
  "hashType": "SHA-256",
  "url": "http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/…esd",
  "editions": ["Pro", "Home", …]  // editions contained in this image
}

3.1. OS Source Scanning and Resolution (Step 6)

1. Offline-first: Engine scans EASYDEPLOY\OS\ on all partitions. Finds a file matching fileName, verifies the SHA-256 hash. Valid → use local file (no network required).
2. Online download: No offline file found or hash mismatch. Engine downloads from url via curl/BITS and verifies the hash after download completes.
3. Abort: No network and no valid offline file. Engine stops and displays an error message.

Tip

For fully offline deployment, download the .esd and copy it to EASYDEPLOY\OS\ on the USB. Do not rename the file — both the name and SHA-256 hash must match the Catalog. Download source: https://esd.coresystem.vn.

Caution

Do not use a DVD or ISO file containing EASYDEPLOY\OS\: ISO (ISO 9660) may truncate overly long file names. The installer file will not match fileName and will be skipped.

4. Summary of File Locations and Roles

File	Path	Role
easydeploy.exe	Embedded in sources\boot.wim	Main executable (provided by CoreSystem).
system-config.json	Inside boot.wim (alongside easydeploy.exe)	System configuration — BootBuilder bakes it into boot.wim at build time (labels, toolPaths fallback, catalog, telemetry, preshared-key).
user-config.json	[USB]:\EASYDEPLOY\	Deployment and license verification configuration (per customer).
data.json	Cloud esd.coresystem.vn & cache X:\EasyDeploy\catalog.json	Catalog of valid Windows Images.
EASYDEPLOY\Profiles\*	USB	Post-installation configuration profiles (initialized by BootBuilder).
EASYDEPLOY\OS\*	USB (optional)	OS source for Offline/Hybrid installation (download from esd.coresystem.vn).
Softwares\*	USB	Portable rescue software and tools (packaged by BootBuilder).

Note

The USB structure (boot, EASYDEPLOY\, Softwares\) is packaged by BootBuilder. You only customize user-config.json and EASYDEPLOY\Profiles\. System files (easydeploy.exe, system-config.json, boot.wim) are managed by CoreSystem.