---
title: Activate Studio Command-Line Switches
slug: activate-studio-command-line-switches
docTags: 
createdAt: 2025-07-14T02:21:02.758Z
---

The **Activate Studio** application is used to configure and manage various aspects of Activate. In some scenarios, you may need to launch **Activate Studio** with specific command-line switches to perform advanced functions.

## Usage

```text
ActivateStudio.exe [/USER:domainName] [/SYSTEM] [/SERVER:connectionString] [/WIZARD:xmlValue] [/START:=//Tasks/...] [/QUIT] [/UPGRADEDB] [/INSTALLPACKAGES] [/OFFLINE]
```

## Available Switches

| Switch                     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `/USER:domainName`         | Sets the **CurrentUser** context to the specified domain user.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| `/SYSTEM`                  | Sets the **CurrentUser** context to **SYSTEM**. Used primarily for debugging Activate.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| `/SERVER:connectionString` | Connect to a specific Activate database using a standard connection string format.<br />**Example:** `server=MYACTIVATE\SQLEXPRESS;Integrated Security=true;Connection Reset=false;Initial Catalog=Activate;`                                                                                                                                            |
| `/WIZARD:xmlValue`         | Launches a configuration wizard using the specified XML input.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| `/START:=//Tasks/...`      | Starts a specific task and submits a job. Provide the task path in the form of `//Tasks/...`.<br />**Note:** Arguments cannot be parsed via this switch.                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| `/QUIT`                    | Closes Activate Administrator. Commonly used after `/START` to auto-exit after task submission.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
| `/UPGRADEDB`               | Forces a database upgrade. You will be prompted to confirm before proceeding.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| `/INSTALLPACKAGES`         | Runs the **Install Packages Wizard** on startup. Requires administrative privileges; the system will prompt to restart with elevated rights if necessary.                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| `/OFFLINE`                 | Launches Activate Studio in **offline mode**:<br />- Prevents extended schema from loading on startup.<br />- Sets **CurrentUser** to the provisioning system user.<br />- Allows access to Activate SQL database objects even when the Activate server cannot be contacted.<br />- LDAP/Active Directory connections are not available until a restart. |