PSADT & ServiceUI: Simplify Intune App Deployments Today

Key insights

• PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit (PSADT) is a framework that helps deploy and manage Windows applications using PowerShell scripts. It allows for interactive user prompts, custom installation logic, and strong error handling.


• ServiceUI.exe comes from the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and lets UI prompts created by PSADT show up for users, even when the app installs in the system context. This solves the common issue where prompts are hidden during Intune deployments.


• When deploying with Intune, apps often install silently because they run in system context. By wrapping PSADT with ServiceUI (for example: ServiceUI.exe -Process:explorer.exe deploy-application.exe), you make sure users see interactive messages during installation.


• The deployment package should be prepared as an .intunewin file. In Intune, use install/uninstall commands that reference ServiceUI, and set detection rules to check if the app installed correctly.


• The latest PSADT versions (v4+) include better support for interactive deployments with ServiceUI. Best practices include setting Intune to run installations as System, using ServiceUI to show UI in the user session, and adding parameters like -DeployMode Interactive.


• This approach enables visible dialogs, progress bars, and user choices during installs through Intune. It improves reliability by making troubleshooting easier and providing clear feedback to end-users during software deployment.

Introduction to Interactive Intune Deployments

Deploying applications through Microsoft Intune often presents a challenge: installations typically run in the system context, resulting in silent installs that provide no user feedback or interaction. In response to this, Dean Ellerby [MVP] has produced an informative YouTube video, guiding viewers through the process of using the PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit (PSADT) and ServiceUI.exe to enable interactive app deployments. This approach allows administrators to show toast notifications and facilitate user deferrals, effectively enhancing the end-user experience during software installations.

The video covers essential tools, including Intune Win32 App Packaging, PSADT, and ServiceUI.exe from the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT). By leveraging these resources, IT professionals can address the otherwise silent nature of Intune-driven deployments and introduce necessary interactivity.

Understanding PSADT and ServiceUI

The PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit serves as a robust framework for deploying and managing Windows applications with PowerShell scripts. It provides features such as interactive prompts, customizable logic for installations and removals, and comprehensive error handling. Meanwhile, ServiceUI.exe acts as a bridge between the system context (Session 0) and the logged-in user context (Session 1 or higher). This distinction is crucial because, by default, Intune runs installations in the system context, which cannot display UI prompts to the user.

By wrapping PSADT deployments with ServiceUI, administrators can ensure that user interface elements are visible and actionable for end users. For instance, using a command like ServiceUI.exe -Process:explorer.exe deploy-application.exe ensures that the deployment's UI is elevated to the user's session, overcoming the limitations of system-context installations.

Step-by-Step Deployment Process

Dean Ellerby’s video tutorial provides a clear, step-by-step walkthrough of the deployment process. Initially, administrators must locate and package the necessary files, including ServiceUI.exe and their PSADT scripts. The entire deployment is then bundled into an .intunewin package using the IntuneWin Content Prep Tool. This packaging step is integral, as it prepares the deployment for upload and configuration within the Intune portal.

Subsequently, app installation and uninstallation commands are configured to reference the ServiceUI invocation, ensuring proper UI visibility. Detection rules are established to verify the installation state, and testing is conducted to confirm that toast notifications and user deferrals function as intended. Throughout this process, attention must be paid to command-line parameters, as omitting key options or misconfiguring install behavior can lead to errors, such as missing administrator rights or invisible prompts.

Recent Innovations and Best Practices

The latest versions of PSADT, especially v4, have introduced improved integration with ServiceUI and enhanced examples for interactive deployments. Dean Ellerby’s content emphasizes the importance of using updated scripts, such as Invoke-AppDeployToolkit.ps1, which work seamlessly with ServiceUI to deliver a smoother user experience. Notably, the video addresses common pitfalls, including troubleshooting UI-related issues that arise from improper session targeting or incorrect install behavior in Intune.

For best results, it is recommended to explicitly set Intune’s app installation behavior to run as System, while utilizing ServiceUI to elevate UI components to the user session. Additionally, deploying with the -DeployMode Interactive parameter ensures that dialogs and prompts are visible to users, mitigating confusion and reducing support requests.

Balancing Interactivity and Security

Enabling interactive deployments in Intune is not without tradeoffs. While providing users with prompts and progress indicators greatly improves transparency and engagement, it also introduces complexity in scripting and troubleshooting. Administrators must carefully balance the need for user interaction against the security implications of running installers with elevated privileges and the risk of exposing system-level operations to end users.

Moreover, session isolation in Windows—where system processes run in Session 0 and user activities occur in Session 1 or higher—demands precise management to avoid unintended access or privilege escalation. ServiceUI addresses this challenge, but only when implemented with strict adherence to best practices and thorough testing.

Conclusion: Streamlining Deployments with PSADT and ServiceUI

In summary, Dean Ellerby’s tutorial provides valuable insights for IT professionals seeking to improve their Intune application deployments. By combining PSADT with ServiceUI, administrators can deliver interactive, user-friendly installations while maintaining the security and reliability of system-context deployments. The process involves careful packaging, configuration, and testing, but the result is a more transparent and manageable software rollout experience for both IT teams and end users.

Embracing these techniques requires an understanding of Windows session management and a commitment to best practices, yet the benefits—ranging from improved user satisfaction to reduced support incidents—make interactive Intune deployments a compelling strategy for modern organizations.

Keywords

PSADT Intune deployment ServiceUI interactive app deployment PowerShell App Deployment Toolkit Intune app installation user interaction Intune application management