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:

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%\.cargo\bin\zeroclaw.exe
4. Runs zeroclaw onboard automatically

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 / 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.

Next

• Service management
• Quick start
• Operations → Overview