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Install on Windows

Build or copy the binary​

From source in PowerShell:

go build -o cmdrad.exe .\cmd\cmdrad
go build -o cmdractl.exe .\cmd\cmdractl

For release artifacts, use the cross-build script from the repository root:

./scripts/build-release.sh

Then copy dist/release/<version>/windows-amd64/cmdrad.exe or windows-arm64/cmdrad.exe to the target host.

Create a daemon config file​

Create dev/cmdrad.json:

{
  "listen_address": "127.0.0.1:8443",
  "server_cert_file": "dev/certs/server.crt",
  "server_key_file": "dev/certs/server.key",
  "client_ca_file": "dev/certs/ca.crt",
  "allowed_client_cn": "client-a",
  "data_dir": "dev/data",
  "audit_log_path": "dev/data/audit.log",
  "chunk_size": 32768,
  "flush_interval": "100ms",
  "grace_period": "5s"
}

Run in the foreground​

.\cmdrad.exe run --config .\dev/cmdrad.json

Install as a Windows service​

.\cmdrad.exe service install --name cmdrad --config .\dev/cmdrad.json
.\cmdrad.exe service start --name cmdrad
.\cmdrad.exe service status --name cmdrad

service install configures the service for automatic start at boot.

The installed service uses the native Windows Service Control Manager execution path.

Remove the service​

.\cmdrad.exe service stop --name cmdrad
.\cmdrad.exe service uninstall --name cmdrad

Smoke-test the service flow​

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\service-smoke-windows.ps1

Smoke-test Windows PTY and ConPTY​

Use the Windows PTY smoke helper when you want to validate PTY-backed shell command execution and PTY-backed attach behavior on a real Windows host:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\pty-smoke-windows.ps1

The script starts a foreground daemon with the repository's development certificates, runs a PTY-backed cmd.exe command, then starts a PTY-backed cmd.exe session and verifies that cmdractl attach can drive it.

Interactive cmdraui PTY validation on Windows​

When you want to validate the fullscreen PTY attach experience in cmdraui on a real Windows host, use the interactive helper:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\scripts\pty-smoke-windows-cmdraui.ps1

That helper:

  • starts a foreground daemon with the development certificates
  • launches cmdraui with the matching mTLS flags
  • leaves cleanup to the script after you exit the TUI

Use it together with: