Hi,
Is it possible to install official KNIME extensions without having to have read-write access on the main installation folder ? I am asking this question for security reasons, that is the risks associated with having read-write access on the installation folder.
Kind regards,
Geo
Hi,
You can run KNIME without installing on Windows. So the user can just download the “self-extracting archive” and unpack it somewhere in the user folder. All extensions will be installed in this user-space.
Hi,
Thank you for the advice. However, the question is about whether or not it is possible separate the installation of extensions from the main program folder, ideally without working around IT security policy.
Kind regards,
Geo
I’m not an expert in IT security but as far as I know the extensions which are hosted at KNIME should be safe in any way. And in addition if you do not install things as admin on your PC many things should be fine.
If downloading data from the internet is already a critical thing then maybe a solution like the IT department of my company provides is a suitable approach:
They provide an own KNIME Server/Hub and host a copy of most of the extensions. So everything stays in the intranet.
Technically it is possible to add extensions to a read-only installation. However we strongly discourage it because it will lead to dependency conflicts sooner or later (plug-ins in the “main” installation cannot be changed and if an extension requires a different version then you cannot install it).
Hi @thor, thank you for highlighting this possibility.
Do I understand correctly, from what you’re saying, that installing KNIME’s official extensions outside of the KNIME folder in Program Files (Windows) is currently not possible?
The policy concern is related to deploying KNIME through an internal software center, which manages the version installed on the client workstations, thus locking user-side write access to KNIME’s installation folder.
Another question: is there a KNIME download that includes all of the official extensions, including KNIME Labs?
Kind regards,
Geo
These sound like contradicting requirements to me. On one hand you want to have a locked down AP installation. On the other hand you also want to allow users to install additional extensions.
As ActionAndi already pointed out you don’t have to “install” AP to the Program Files folder you can also simply extract it into any folder on your computer and then you have write access.
I can see the apparent contradiction and this tells me that KNIME does not allow separating extensions from the base installation.
As for extracting the whole package elsewhere on a corporate computer, I do appreciate the pragmatism in the suggested solution. As well intended as it may seem, this does unfortunately not make it policy compliant.
Thank you both in any case for your helpful answers. I’ve learned what I was looking for. 
Kind regards
Geo