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Creating a Windows VM in Docker or Podman

Although WinApps supports using QEMU+KVM+libvirt as a backend for running Windows virtual machines, it is recommended to use Docker or Podman. These backends automate the setup process, eliminating the need for manual configuration and optimisation of the Windows virtual machine.

Important

Running a Windows virtual machine using Docker or Podman as a backend is only possible on GNU/Linux systems. This is due to the necessity of kernel interfaces, such as the KVM hypervisor, for achieving acceptable performance. The performance of the virtual machine can vary based on the version of the Linux kernel, with newer releases generally offering better performance.

Important

WinApps does NOT officially support versions of Windows prior to Windows 10. Despite this, it may be possible to achieve a successful installation with some additional experimentation. If you find a way to achieve this, please share your solution through a pull request for the benefit of other users.

Docker

Installation

You can find a guide for installing Docker Engine here.

Setup Docker Container

WinApps utilises docker compose to configure Windows VMs. A template compose.yaml is provided.

Prior to installing Windows, you can modify the RAM and number of CPU cores available to the Windows VM by changing RAM_SIZE and CPU_CORES within compose.yaml.

It is also possible to specify the version of Windows you wish to install within compose.yaml by modifying VERSION.

Note

WinApps uses a stripped-down Windows installation by default. Although this is recommended, you can request a stock Windows installation by changing VERSION to one of the versions listed in the README of the original GitHub repository.

Please refer to the original GitHub repository for more information on additional configuration options.

Installing Windows

You can initiate the Windows installation using docker compose.

cd winapps
docker compose --file ./compose.yaml up

You can then access the Windows virtual machine via a VNC connection to complete the Windows setup by navigating to http://127.0.0.1:8006 in your web browser.

After installing Windows, comment out the following lines in the compose.yaml file by prepending a '#':

  • - ./oem:/oem
  • - /path/to/windows/install/media.iso:/custom.iso (if relevant)

Then, copy this modified compose.yaml file to ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml.

cp ./compose.yaml ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml

Finally, ensure the new configuration is applied by running the following:

docker compose --file ./compose.yaml down
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml up

Changing compose.yaml

Changes to compose.yaml require the Windows virtual machine to be removed and re-created. This should NOT affect your data.

# Stop and remove the existing Windows virtual machine.
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml down

# Remove the existing FreeRDP certificate (if required).
# Note: A new certificate will be created when connecting via RDP for the first time.
rm ~/.config/freerdp/server/127.0.0.1_3389.pem

# Re-create the virtual machine with the updated configuration.
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml up

Subsequent Use

docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml start # Power on the Windows VM
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml pause # Pause the Windows VM
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml unpause # Resume the Windows VM
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml restart # Restart the Windows VM
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml stop # Gracefully shut down the Windows VM
docker compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml kill # Force shut down the Windows VM

Podman

Installation

  1. Install Podman using this guide.
  2. Install podman-compose using this guide.

Setup Podman Container

Please follow the docker instructions.

Important

Ensure WAFLAVOR is set to "podman" in ~/.config/winapps/winapps.conf.

Installing Windows

You can initiate the Windows installation using podman-compose.

cd winapps
podman-compose --file ./compose.yaml up

You can then access the Windows virtual machine via a VNC connection to complete the Windows setup by navigating to http://127.0.0.1:8006 in your web browser.

After installing Windows, comment out the following lines in the compose.yaml file by prepending a '#':

  • - ./oem:/oem
  • - /path/to/windows/install/media.iso:/custom.iso (if relevant)

Then, copy this modified compose.yaml file to ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml.

cp ./compose.yaml ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml

Finally, ensure the new configuration is applied by running the following:

podman-compose --file ./compose.yaml down
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml up

Changing compose.yaml

Changes to compose.yaml require the Windows virtual machine to be removed and re-created. This should NOT affect your data.

# Stop and remove the existing Windows virtual machine.
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml down

# Remove the existing FreeRDP certificate (if required).
# Note: A new certificate will be created when connecting via RDP for the first time.
rm ~/.config/freerdp/server/127.0.0.1_3389.pem

# Re-create the virtual machine with the updated configuration.
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml up

Subsequent Use

podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml start # Power on the Windows VM
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml pause # Pause the Windows VM
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml unpause # Resume the Windows VM
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml restart # Restart the Windows VM
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml stop # Gracefully shut down the Windows VM
podman-compose --file ~/.config/winapps/compose.yaml kill # Force shut down the Windows VM