windows-vm

# Headless Windows 11 VM Manage a headless Windows 11 VM running via [dockur/windows](https://github.com/dockur/windows) in Docker with KVM acceleration. The VM is accessible via SSH only — no RDP or GUI required. ## Host prerequisites - Docker - KVM support (`/dev/kvm` must exist — check with `ls /dev/kvm`) - `sshpass` (`sudo apt install sshpass`) - `imagemagick` (optional, for screenshot debugging: `sudo apt install imagemagick`) ## Configuration - **Container name**: `windows11` - **VM directory**: `/home/jesse/windows-vm/` - `storage/` — VM disk image (managed by dockur, wiped on recreate) - `iso/win11x64.iso` — cached Windows ISO (7.3GB, persists across recreates) - `oem/install.bat` — post-install script (installs OpenSSH Server) - **Credentials**: user / password - **SSH**: `localhost:2222` (bound to 127.0.0.1 only) - **RDP**: `localhost:3389` (bound to 127.0.0.1 only, fallback) - **Web console**: `localhost:8006` (VNC in browser, for debugging) - **Resources**: 8GB RAM, 4 CPU cores, 64GB disk ## Actions ### create — First-time setup or full recreate 1. Ensure directories exist: ```bash mkdir -p /home/jesse/windows-vm/oem /home/jesse/windows-vm/storage /home/jesse/windows-vm/iso ``` 2. Ensure `/home/jesse/windows-vm/oem/install.bat` exists with OpenSSH setup: ```bat @echo off echo Installing OpenSSH Server... powershell -Command "Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0" 2>nul powershell -Command "Get-WindowsCapability -Online -Name OpenSSH.Server* | Add-WindowsCapability -Online" 2>nul dism /Online /Add-Capability /CapabilityName:OpenSSH.Server~~~~0.0.1.0 2>nul powershell -Command "Start-Service sshd" 2>nul powershell -Command "Set-Service -Name sshd -StartupType Automatic" powershell -Command "New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\OpenSSH' -Name DefaultShell -Value 'C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe' -PropertyType String -Force" powershell -Command "New-NetFirewallRule -Name 'OpenSSH-Server' -DisplayName 'OpenSSH Server' -Enabled True -Direction Inbound -Protocol TCP -Action Allow -LocalPort 22" powershell -Command "Get-Service sshd" 2>nul echo Done. ``` 3. If recreating, remove the old container and disk: ```bash docker stop windows11 && docker rm windows11 rm -f /home/jesse/windows-vm/storage/data.img ``` 4. Launch the container. There are two cases: **If cached ISO exists** (`/home/jesse/windows-vm/iso/win11x64.iso`): ```bash docker run -d \ --name windows11 \ -p 127.0.0.1:3389:3389 \ -p 127.0.0.1:2222:22 \ -p 127.0.0.1:8006:8006 \ -e RAM_SIZE="8G" \ -e CPU_CORES="4" \ -e DISK_SIZE="64G" \ -e USERNAME="user" \ -e PASSWORD="password" \ --cap-add NET_ADMIN \ --device /dev/kvm \ -v /home/jesse/windows-vm/storage:/storage \ -v /home/jesse/windows-vm/oem:/oem \ -v /home/jesse/windows-vm/iso/win11x64.iso:/boot.iso \ dockurr/windows ``` **First time (no cached ISO)** — omit the `/boot.iso` mount and add `VERSION`: ```bash docker run -d \ --name windows11 \ -p 127.0.0.1:3389:3389 \ -p 127.0.0.1:2222:22 \ -p 127.0.0.1:8006:8006 \ -e RAM_SIZE="8G" \ -e CPU_CORES="4" \ -e DISK_SIZE="64G" \ -e VERSION="win11" \ -e USERNAME="user" \ -e PASSWORD="password" \ --cap-add NET_ADMIN \ --device /dev/kvm \ -v /home/jesse/windows-vm/storage:/storage \ -v /home/jesse/windows-vm/oem:/oem \ dockurr/windows ``` After the ISO downloads and Windows boots, **immediately** copy the ISO out before the container is ever stopped (dockur wipes `/storage` on recreate): ```bash cp /home/jesse/windows-vm/storage/win11x64.iso /home/jesse/windows-vm/iso/win11x64.iso ``` 5. Wait for Windows install + OpenSSH setup to complete. This takes **20-30 minutes** for a fresh install (the OEM install.bat runs at the end of Windows OOBE and downloads OpenSSH from Microsoft, which is slow). Monitor with: ```bash docker logs -f windows11 ``` You can also watch the VM screen via the web console at `http://localhost:8006` (tunnel with `ssh -L 8006:localhost:8006 jesse@magic-kingdom` from another machine). To check if SSH is up: ```bash sshpass -p 'password' ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -o ConnectTimeout=5 -p 2222 user@localhost "whoami" ``` 6. Once SSH is responding, install Node.js and Claude Code by piping a setup script via stdin (avoids PowerShell escaping hell over SSH): ```bash cat << 'PS' | sshpass -p 'password' ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p 2222 user@localhost "powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command -" # Download and install Node.js silently Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://nodejs.org/dist/v22.14.0/node-v22.14.0-x64.msi' -OutFile 'C:\Users\user\node-install.msi' Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList '/i C:\Users\user\node-install.msi /qn /norestart' -Wait -Verb RunAs Write-Host "Node.js installed" # Install Claude Code globally & 'C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.cmd' install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code Write-Host "Claude Code installed" # Add npm global bin and Git to SYSTEM PATH (user PATH is not read by sshd) $systemPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', 'Machine') $additions = @() if ($systemPath -notlike '*AppData*npm*') { $additions += 'C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\npm' } if ($systemPath -notlike '*Git\cmd*') { $additions += 'C:\Program Files\Git\cmd' } if ($additions.Count -gt 0) { [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('Path', $systemPath + ';' + ($additions -join ';'), 'Machine') Write-Host "Added to system PATH: $($additions -join ', ')" } # Set git config git config --global user.name "Jesse Vincent" git config --global user.email "jesse@fsck.com" Write-Host "Git configured" # Set execution policy machine-wide (required for claude.ps1) Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope LocalMachine -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue # Create system-wide PowerShell profile that rebuilds PATH from registry on login. # Without this, interactive SSH sessions don't pick up the full system PATH. $profileDir = Split-Path $PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts if (-not (Test-Path $profileDir)) { New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $profileDir -Force } @' $machinePath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', 'Machine') $userPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable('Path', 'User') $env:Path = "$machinePath;$userPath" '@ | Set-Content -Path $PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts -Force Write-Host "PowerShell profile created" # Restart sshd so it picks up the new PATH Restart-Service sshd -Force PS ``` Note: the connection will drop when sshd restarts — that's expected. 7. Clear the stale host key (new VM = new host key) and verify: ```bash ssh-keygen -f ~/.ssh/known_hosts -R '[localhost]:2222' sshpass -p 'password' ssh -o StrictHostKeyChecking=no -p 2222 user@localhost "claude --version" ``` ### start — Start a stopped VM ```bash docker start windows11 ``` ### stop — Stop the VM ```bash docker stop windows11 ``` ### restart — Restart the VM ```bash docker restart windows11 ``` ### status — Check VM status ```bash docker ps -f name=windows11 --format "table {{.Status}}\t{{.Ports}}" docker logs windows11 2>&1 | tail -5 ``` ### ssh — Connect to the VM ```bash ssh -p 2222 user@localhost ``` From another tailnet machine via magic-kingdom: ```bash ssh -J jesse@magic-kingdom -p 2222 user@localhost ``` ### screenshot — See what's on the VM screen (for debugging) ```bash docker exec windows11 bash -c "echo 'screendump /tmp/screen.ppm' | nc -w 2 localhost 7100" > /dev/null 2>&1 sleep 1 docker cp windows11:/tmp/screen.ppm /tmp/screen.ppm convert /tmp/screen.ppm /tmp/screen.png ``` ## Important Notes - **ISO caching**: The `/storage` volume is managed by dockur and gets wiped on recreate. Store the ISO separately in `/home/jesse/windows-vm/iso/` and mount it as `/boot.iso` to skip the 7.3GB download. - **`--cap-add NET_ADMIN`** is required for port forwarding to work. Without it, QEMU falls back to user-mode networking and port forwarding silently fails. - **`--device /dev/kvm`** is required for hardware acceleration. - **Boot time**: Fresh install takes 20-30 min (Windows install + OpenSSH download from Microsoft). Subsequent boots from existing `data.img` are fast (~2 min). - Ports are bound to `127.0.0.1` only — not exposed to the network. Access from other machines via Tailscale SSH tunneling. - Do NOT use `-e VERSION="win11"` when mounting `/boot.iso` — the version is auto-detected from the ISO. ## Post-install gotchas - **Node.js is not pre-installed** — the Claude Code install script (`irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex`) will report success but `claude` won't work without Node. Install Node.js via MSI first. - **npm global bin not in PATH** — Node's MSI adds `C:\Program Files\nodejs` to PATH but not `C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\npm` (where `npm install -g` puts binaries). Must add it to the **system** PATH (not user PATH) because OpenSSH's sshd only reads system PATH. After changing system PATH, restart sshd. - **PowerShell execution policy** — Default policy is `Restricted`, which blocks `claude.ps1`. Must set to `RemoteSigned` at **LocalMachine** scope (not CurrentUser) for it to take effect in SSH sessions. - **Escaping hell** — Running PowerShell commands over SSH with nested quotes is unreliable. Pipe scripts via stdin using `powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command -` instead. - **Interactive SSH sessions don't get full PATH** — Windows OpenSSH sshd doesn't properly propagate the system PATH to interactive PowerShell sessions. Fix: create a system-wide PowerShell profile (`$PROFILE.AllUsersAllHosts`) that rebuilds `$env:Path` from the registry on every login. - **winget may not work** — The Microsoft Store certificate can fail in a VM. Use direct MSI/installer downloads instead. - **Host key changes** — Each recreated VM gets new SSH host keys. Run `ssh-keygen -R '[localhost]:2222'` to clear the old one.