how to install a prefPane on mac osx from commandline?

Question

I'm automating some system installs and I need to install a prefPane.

something like installer -pkg xxx.pkg -target / that I use for installing .pkg files.

Answer 1

Simple preference panes can be "installed" by moving them to

/Users/yourname/Library/PreferencePanes/

and "uninstalled" by removing them from there (just tested it with Secrets).

You can "launch" them using open.

Many preference panes install additional daemons/agents or system components upon launch or user action. You should be able to use AppleScript to perform these UI actions, but they're custom to each preference pane.