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Windows

Install, update, run as a scheduled task / Windows Service, and uninstall on Windows 10 / 11.

setup.bat is the Windows counterpart to install.sh — same job, different shell. If you're running WSL2, you can follow the Linux setup instead; install.sh runs unchanged under WSL.

Install

Option 1 — setup.bat from a release

Download the latest ZeroClaw release, unzip, and run:

setup.bat

Flags:

Flag Behaviour
--prebuilt Download prebuilt binary from GitHub Releases (fastest — no Rust toolchain needed)
--minimal Build core only (--no-default-features; no channels, no hardware)
--standard Build with lean default channels (ACP server, webhook, email, Telegram)
--full Build with all channels (channels-full)

The script:

  1. Checks for rustup; downloads rustup-init.exe and installs stable toolchain if missing
  2. Builds (or downloads) the binary
  3. Installs to %USERPROFILE%\.zeroclaw\bin\zeroclaw.exe
  4. Prints mode-specific next steps:
    • --prebuilt, --standard, --full: run zeroclaw onboard
    • --minimal: onboarding is unavailable; configure %USERPROFILE%\.zeroclaw\config.toml manually and use the reduced CLI path (zeroclaw agent ...)

For source builds, setup.bat now prints the exact cargo build ... command it executes and reports the installed zeroclaw.exe size so command shape and artifact expectations stay visible.

Option 2 — Scoop

scoop install zeroclaw
zeroclaw onboard

Option 3 — From source

Requires Rust (rustup) and Visual Studio Build Tools:

git clone https://github.com/zeroclaw-labs/zeroclaw
cd zeroclaw
cargo install --locked --path .
zeroclaw onboard

System dependencies

Windows builds use the MSVC toolchain. You need:

  • Visual Studio Build Tools (or full Visual Studio) with the "Desktop development with C++" workload
  • Rust stable (via rustup)

If you're using --prebuilt you don't need the Rust toolchain — the binary is self-contained.

Running as a service

Windows has two options: a scheduled task (user session) or a Windows Service (system session).

Scheduled task (recommended for single-user machines)

zeroclaw service install
zeroclaw service start

This creates a task that runs under your user account and starts on login. Managed via Task Scheduler (taskschd.msc).

Logs go to %LOCALAPPDATA%\ZeroClaw\logs\.

Windows Service (for server installs)

Running as a true service requires Administrator privileges during install. Open an elevated cmd.exe and:

zeroclaw service install

When run elevated, the installer registers a Windows Service under LocalSystem instead of a user-scoped scheduled task. Consider creating a dedicated service account if the agent touches user-scoped resources.

Full details: Service management.

Update

From setup.bat / release zip

Re-download the latest release and re-run setup.bat --prebuilt (or whichever flag you used originally). Then:

zeroclaw service restart

Scoop

scoop update zeroclaw
zeroclaw service restart

From source

cd C:\path\to\zeroclaw
git pull
cargo install --locked --path . --force
zeroclaw service restart

Uninstall

Stop and remove the service:

zeroclaw service stop
zeroclaw service uninstall

Remove the binary:

:: setup.bat
del "%USERPROFILE%\.zeroclaw\bin\zeroclaw.exe"

:: cargo install
del "%USERPROFILE%\.cargo\bin\zeroclaw.exe"

:: Scoop
scoop uninstall zeroclaw

Remove config and workspace (optional — this deletes conversation history):

rmdir /s /q "%USERPROFILE%\.zeroclaw"
rmdir /s /q "%LOCALAPPDATA%\ZeroClaw"

Gotchas

  • Long paths. Some Windows file systems still cap path lengths at 260 characters. Enable long path support if you hit path too long errors during build (reg add HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem /v LongPathsEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f).
  • SmartScreen. The unsigned binary may trip SmartScreen on first launch. Right-click → Properties → "Unblock" is the standard workaround until we add a signed MSI.
  • Task Scheduler stop-at-idle. By default Windows may terminate scheduled tasks on idle / battery. The installed task explicitly disables these conditions; verify under Task Scheduler → ZeroClaw → Properties → Conditions.

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