Install on Windows 11

Windows 11 is supported for workstations and evaluations. For a shared production deployment, install on Linux.

Before you start

• Windows 11, version 22H2 or newer, 64-bit. Run winver to check.
• Virtualisation enabled in the BIOS or UEFI (Intel VT-x or AMD-V). In Task Manager > Performance > CPU, Virtualization must read Enabled.
• 16 GB of memory recommended. WSL is given half.
• 50 GB free on the system drive.
• The network marked Private or Domain if other machines will connect. The installer offers to change it.
• If Docker Desktop is installed, turn off its WSL integration for Ubuntu-24.04.

Install

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

irm https://license.cerberon.dev/install.ps1 | iex

The installer turns on WSL 2, installs Ubuntu 24.04 and Docker Engine, adds a firewall rule and a port forward for 443, creates a Cerberon scheduled task that starts it with Windows, and asks for your licence key.

If Windows asks for a restart the first time WSL is installed, restart and run the same command again. It continues where it stopped.

When it finishes, open https://localhost on the PC, or https://<PC address> from another machine, and create the first administrator with the setup token the installer shows.

Changes the installer makes

• Sets WSL options for your Windows user in %USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig: NAT networking without localhost forwarding, and no idle shutdown. Other WSL distributions on the PC use the same settings.
• Forwards port 443 to WSL with netsh interface portproxy. The Cerberon task refreshes the forward each time Windows starts.

Manage Cerberon on Windows

Task	Command
Run a health check	wsl -d Ubuntu-24.04 -- cerberon doctor
Stop Cerberon	Stop-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Cerberon"
Start Cerberon	Start-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Cerberon"
Read the install log	Get-Content C:\ProgramData\Cerberon\install-windows.log -Tail 100