Genesis supports both native Windows and WSL2. WSL2 is the more stable path and recommended for the full experience — the CLI, Gateway, and tooling run inside Linux with full compatibility. Native Windows works for core CLI and Gateway use, with some caveats noted below.

Native Windows companion apps are planned.

WSL2 (recommended)

• Getting Started (use inside WSL)
• Install & updates
• Official WSL2 guide (Microsoft): https://learn.microsoft.com/windows/wsl/install

Native Windows status

Native Windows CLI flows are improving, but WSL2 is still the recommended path.

What works well on native Windows today:

• website installer via install.ps1
• local CLI use such as genesis --version, genesis doctor, and genesis plugins list --json
• embedded local-agent/provider smoke such as:

genesis agent --local --agent main --thinking low -m "Reply with exactly WINDOWS-HATCH-OK."

Current caveats:

• genesis onboard --non-interactive still expects a reachable local gateway unless you pass --skip-health
• genesis onboard --non-interactive --install-daemon and genesis gateway install try Windows Scheduled Tasks first
• if Scheduled Task creation is denied, Genesis falls back to a per-user Startup-folder login item and starts the gateway immediately
• if schtasks itself wedges or stops responding, Genesis now aborts that path quickly and falls back instead of hanging forever
• Scheduled Tasks are still preferred when available because they provide better supervisor status

If you want the native CLI only, without gateway service install, use one of these:

genesis onboard --non-interactive --skip-health
genesis gateway run

If you do want managed startup on native Windows:

genesis gateway install
genesis gateway status --json

If Scheduled Task creation is blocked, the fallback service mode still auto-starts after login through the current user's Startup folder.

Gateway

• Gateway runbook
• Configuration

Gateway service install (CLI)

Inside WSL2:

genesis onboard --install-daemon

Or:

genesis gateway install

Or:

genesis configure

Select Gateway service when prompted.

Repair/migrate:

genesis doctor

Gateway auto-start before Windows login

For headless setups, ensure the full boot chain runs even when no one logs into Windows.

1) Keep user services running without login

Inside WSL:

sudo loginctl enable-linger "$(whoami)"

2) Install the Genesis gateway user service

Inside WSL:

genesis gateway install

3) Start WSL automatically at Windows boot

In PowerShell as Administrator:

schtasks /create /tn "WSL Boot" /tr "wsl.exe -d Ubuntu --exec /bin/true" /sc onstart /ru SYSTEM

Replace Ubuntu with your distro name from:

wsl --list --verbose

Verify startup chain

After a reboot (before Windows sign-in), check from WSL:

systemctl --user is-enabled genesis-gateway.service
systemctl --user status genesis-gateway.service --no-pager

Advanced: expose WSL services over LAN (portproxy)

WSL has its own virtual network. If another machine needs to reach a service running inside WSL (SSH, a local TTS server, or the Gateway), you must forward a Windows port to the current WSL IP. The WSL IP changes after restarts, so you may need to refresh the forwarding rule.

Example (PowerShell as Administrator):

$Distro = "Ubuntu-24.04"
$ListenPort = 2222
$TargetPort = 22

$WslIp = (wsl -d $Distro -- hostname -I).Trim().Split(" ")[0]
if (-not $WslIp) { throw "WSL IP not found." }

netsh interface portproxy add v4tov4 listenaddress=0.0.0.0 listenport=$ListenPort `
  connectaddress=$WslIp connectport=$TargetPort

Allow the port through Windows Firewall (one-time):

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "WSL SSH $ListenPort" -Direction Inbound `
  -Protocol TCP -LocalPort $ListenPort -Action Allow

Refresh the portproxy after WSL restarts:

netsh interface portproxy delete v4tov4 listenport=$ListenPort listenaddress=0.0.0.0 | Out-Null
netsh interface portproxy add v4tov4 listenport=$ListenPort listenaddress=0.0.0.0 `
  connectaddress=$WslIp connectport=$TargetPort | Out-Null

Notes:

• SSH from another machine targets the Windows host IP (example: ssh user@windows-host -p 2222).
• Remote nodes must point at a reachable Gateway URL (not 127.0.0.1); use genesis status --all to confirm.
• Use listenaddress=0.0.0.0 for LAN access; 127.0.0.1 keeps it local only.
• If you want this automatic, register a Scheduled Task to run the refresh step at login.

Step-by-step WSL2 install

1) Install WSL2 + Ubuntu

Open PowerShell (Admin):

wsl --install
# Or pick a distro explicitly:
wsl --list --online
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Reboot if Windows asks.

2) Enable systemd (required for gateway install)

In your WSL terminal:

sudo tee /etc/wsl.conf >/dev/null <<'EOF'
[boot]
systemd=true
EOF

Then from PowerShell:

wsl --shutdown

Re-open Ubuntu, then verify:

systemctl --user status

3) Install Genesis (inside WSL)

For a normal first-time setup inside WSL, follow the Linux Getting Started flow:

git clone https://github.com/PIXELZX0/Genesis.git
cd genesis
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm ui:build
pnpm genesis onboard --install-daemon

If you are developing from source instead of doing first-time onboarding, use the source dev loop from Setup:

pnpm install
# First run only (or after resetting local Genesis config/workspace)
pnpm genesis setup
pnpm gateway:watch

Full guide: Getting Started

Windows companion app

We do not have a Windows companion app yet. Contributions are welcome if you want contributions to make it happen.

Related

• Install overview
• Platforms