The author is advocating adding a lot of complexity to the install routines to avoid having to ask users questions in order to configure the application.

This is itself problematic. Using their example:

1. Reading info from package.json. What happens when there are multiple files schemas for these files (add complexity to handle these use cases) 2. What happens when some users have multiple package.json files (add complexity, by letting them change from the default) 3. What happens when the values change in the file (should this be handled? If so, it adds complexity)

And so on and so forth. Eventually every installer ends up trying to be everything to everyone, with many added potential points of failure, added dependencies, etc. Just to integrate all this stuff away from the user having to do something. Then the installer ends up as bloated, complicated and fragile as the application it installs.

At least, this is my experience with Windows installers. (Which I have a lot of experience with)