windows_arm_on_docker/readme.md

Windows ARM64

Windows for ARM in a Docker container, for devices like the Raspberry Pi 5 and many others.

Note: for KVM acceleration you need a Linux-based operating system, as it's not available on MacOS unfortunately.

Features

• ISO downloader
• KVM acceleration
• Web-based viewer

Video

Usage

Via Docker Compose:

version: "3"
services:
  windows:
    container_name: windows
    image: dockurr/windows-arm
    environment:
      VERSION: "win11"
    devices:
      - /dev/kvm
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
    ports:
      - 8006:8006
      - 3389:3389/tcp
      - 3389:3389/udp
    stop_grace_period: 2m
    restart: on-failure

Via Docker CLI:

docker run -it --rm --name windows -p 8006:8006 --device=/dev/kvm --cap-add NET_ADMIN --stop-timeout 120 dockurr/windows-arm

FAQ

• How do I use it?

  Very simple! These are the steps:

  • Start the container and connect to port 8006 using your web browser.

  • Sit back and relax while the magic happens, the whole installation will be performed fully automatic.

  • Once you see the desktop, your Windows installation is ready for use.

  Enjoy your brand new machine, and don't forget to star this repo!

• How do I select the Windows version?

  By default, Windows 11 will be installed. But you can add the VERSION environment variable to your compose file, in order to specify an alternative Windows version to be downloaded:

  environment:
    VERSION: "win11"
  

  Select from the values below:

  Value	Description	Platform	Source	Size
  win11	Windows 11 Pro	ARM64	Microsoft	4.6 GB
  win10	Windows 10 Pro	ARM64	Microsoft	3.9 GB

  To install x86 or x64 versions of Windows use dockur/windows.

• How do I connect using RDP?

  The web-viewer is mainly meant to be used during installation, as its picture quality is low, and it has no audio or clipboard for example.

  So for a better experience you can connect using any Microsoft Remote Desktop client to the IP of the container, using the username docker and by leaving the password empty.

  There is a good RDP client for Android available from the Play Store and one for iOS in the Apple Store. For Linux you can use FreeRDP and on Windows just type mstsc in the search box.

• How do I increase the amount of CPU or RAM?

  By default, 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM are allocated to the container, as those are the minimum requirements of Windows 11.

  To increase this, add the following environment variables:

  environment:
    RAM_SIZE: "8G"
    CPU_CORES: "4"
  

• How do I change the size of the disk?

  To expand the default size of 64 GB, add the DISK_SIZE setting to your compose file and set it to your preferred capacity:

  environment:
    DISK_SIZE: "256G"
  

  This can also be used to resize the existing disk to a larger capacity without any data loss.

• How do I change the storage location?

  To change the storage location, include the following bind mount in your compose file:

  volumes:
    - /var/win:/storage
  

  Replace the example path /var/win with the desired storage folder.

• How do I share files with the host?

  Open File Explorer and click on the Network section, you will see a computer called host.lan, double-click it and it will show a folder called Data.

  Inside this folder you can access any files that are placed in /storage/shared (see above) on the host.

• How do I install a custom image?

  In order to download a custom ISO image, start a fresh container with the URL of the ISO specified in the VERSION environment variable:

  environment:
    VERSION: "https://example.com/win.iso"
  

  Alternatively, you can also use a local file directly, and skip the download, by binding it in your compose file in this way:

  volumes:
    - /home/user/example.iso:/storage/custom.iso
  

  Replace the example path /home/user/example.iso with the filename of the desired ISO file. The value of VERSION will be ignored in this case.

• How do I customize the installation?

  You can customize any part of the automatic installation, and even execute certain commands at boot if needed.

  Download the XML file corresponding to your Windows version, for example win11arm64.xml. Then apply your modifications to it, and add this line to your compose file:

  volumes:
    -  /home/user/custom.xml:/run/assets/win11arm64.xml
  

  Replace the example path /home/user/custom.xml with the filename of the modified XML file.

• How do I assign an individual IP address to the container?

  By default, the container uses bridge networking, which shares the IP address with the host.

  If you want to assign an individual IP address to the container, you can create a macvlan network as follows:

  docker network create -d macvlan \
      --subnet=192.168.0.0/24 \
      --gateway=192.168.0.1 \
      --ip-range=192.168.0.100/28 \
      -o parent=eth0 vlan
  

  Be sure to modify these values to match your local subnet.

  Once you have created the network, change your compose file to look as follows:

  services:
    windows:
      container_name: windows
      ..<snip>..
      networks:
        vlan:
          ipv4_address: 192.168.0.100
  
  networks:
    vlan:
      external: true
  

  An added benefit of this approach is that you won't have to perform any port mapping anymore, since all ports will be exposed by default.

  Please note that this IP address won't be accessible from the Docker host due to the design of macvlan, which doesn't permit communication between the two. If this is a concern, you need to create a second macvlan as a workaround.

• How can Windows acquire an IP address from my router?

  After configuring the container for macvlan (see above), it is possible for Windows to become part of your home network by requesting an IP from your router, just like a real PC.

  To enable this mode, add the following lines to your compose file:

  environment:
    DHCP: "Y"
  devices:
    - /dev/vhost-net
  device_cgroup_rules:
    - 'c *:* rwm'
  

  Please note that in this mode, the container and Windows will each have their own separate IPs. The container will keep the macvlan IP, and Windows will use the DHCP IP.

• How do I pass-through a disk?

  It is possible to pass-through disk devices directly by adding them to your compose file in this way:

  environment:
    DEVICE: "/dev/sda"
    DEVICE2: "/dev/sdb"
  devices:
    - /dev/sda
    - /dev/sdb
  

  Use DEVICE if you want it to become your main drive, and use DEVICE2 and higher to add them as secondary drives.

• How do I pass-through a USB device?

  To pass-through a USB device, first lookup its vendor and product id via the lsusb command, then add them to your compose file like this:

  environment:
    ARGUMENTS: "-device usb-host,vendorid=0x1234,productid=0x1234"
  devices:
    - /dev/bus/usb
  

• How do I verify if my system supports KVM?

  To verify if your system supports KVM, run the following commands:

  sudo apt install cpu-checker
  sudo kvm-ok
  

  If you receive an error from kvm-ok indicating that KVM acceleration can't be used, check the virtualization settings in the BIOS.

• Is this project legal?

  Yes, this project contains only open-source code and does not distribute any copyrighted material. Any product keys found in the code are just generic placeholders provided by Microsoft for trial purposes. So under all applicable laws, this project would be considered legal.

Stars

Disclaimer

The product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks referred to within this project are the property of their respective trademark holders. This project is not affiliated, sponsored, or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation.