Windows

OpenSoul supports Windows in two ways:

1. Native Windows app — C#/.NET WPF desktop app with system tray, deep link protocol (opensoul://), Mica/Acrylic effects, and Velopack auto-updates. Connects to a Gateway (local or remote).
2. WSL2 (recommended for Gateway) — Run the CLI + Gateway inside Linux for full tooling compatibility (Node/Bun/pnpm, skills). One command to install: wsl --install.

Install (WSL2)

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

Gateway

• Gateway runbook
• Configuration

Gateway service install (CLI)

Inside WSL2:

opensoul onboard --install-daemon

Or:

opensoul gateway install

Or:

opensoul configure

Select Gateway service when prompted.

Repair/migrate:

opensoul doctor

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 opensoul 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 OpenSoul (inside WSL)

Follow the Linux Getting Started flow inside WSL:

git clone https://github.com/NJX-njx/opensoul.git
cd opensoul
pnpm install
pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run
pnpm build
opensoul onboard

Full guide: Getting Started

Windows companion app

A native Windows desktop app is available in apps/windows/ — C#/.NET WPF with WebView2, system tray, deep link protocol (opensoul://), Mica/Acrylic background effects, and Velopack auto-updates. Build from source or download releases from Releases.