Chocolatey as non-admin user

Chocolatey is an open source package and software management system for Windows that is gaining in popularity. It allows users to easily install software from the command line, and it is becoming a popular choice for IT administrators. However, one of the drawbacks of Chocolatey is that it requires administrative privileges to install software. So how can IT administrators allow non-admin users to use Chocolatey?

The first step is to create a Chocolatey group. All users who should be able to use Chocolatey should be added to this group. The group should then be granted the appropriate user rights. This can be done through the Local Security Policy settings. In the Local Security Policy, go to the Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment, and then add the Chocolatey group to the following policies:

1. Generate Security Audits
2. Log on as a service
3. Manage auditing and security log
4. Replace a process level token
5. Bypass traverse checking
6. Access this computer from the network
7. Shut down the system

Once this is done, the Chocolatey group needs to be granted the necessary privileges to install software. To do this, go to the Local Security Policy settings and add the Chocolatey group to the following policies:

1. Create a token object
2. Create global objects
3. Add workstations to domain
4. Increase quotas
5. Replace a process level token
6. Adjust memory quotas for a process
7. Load and unload device drivers
8. Backup files and directories
9. Restore files and directories

Finally, the Chocolatey group should be given the necessary permissions to install software. To do this, go to the Local Security Policy settings and add the Chocolatey group to the following policies:

1. Log on as a batch job
2. Access this computer from the network
3. Shut down the system
4. Manage auditing and security log
5. Change the system time
6. Change the time zone
7. Create permanent shared objects
8. Take ownership of files or other objects
9. Bypass traverse checking
10. Create symbolic links

Once the necessary user rights and privileges have been granted to the Chocolatey group, non-admin users will be able to use Chocolatey to install software. The process is fairly straightforward, and it ensures that non-admin users have the necessary privileges to install software without putting the system at risk. This makes it easy for IT administrators to maintain control over the software installation process while still allowing users to install the applications they need.