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.
- ISO downloader
- KVM acceleration
- Web-based viewer
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-failureVia Docker CLI:
docker run -it --rm --name windows -p 8006:8006 --device=/dev/kvm --cap-add NET_ADMIN --stop-timeout 120 dockurr/windows-arm-
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!
-
-
By default, Windows 11 will be installed. But you can add the
VERSIONenvironment 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 Version Platform Size win11Windows 11 Pro ARM64 4.6 GB win10Windows 10 Pro ARM64 3.9 GB To install x86 and x64 versions of Windows, use dockur/windows.
-
To change the storage location, include the following bind mount in your compose file:
volumes: - /var/win:/storage
Replace the example path
/var/winwith the desired storage folder. -
To expand the default size of 64 GB, add the
DISK_SIZEsetting 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.
-
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 calledData, which can be binded to any folder on your host via the compose file:volumes: - /home/user/example:/shared
The example folder
/home/user/examplewill be available as\\host.lan\Data. You can optionally map this path to a drive letter in Windows, for easier access. -
In order to download any ISO image that is not part of the list above, start a fresh container with the URL of that ISO specified in the
VERSIONenvironment variable, for example:environment: VERSION: "https://example.com/win.iso"
Alternatively, you can also use a local file directly, and skip the download altogether, by binding it in your compose file in this way:
volumes: - /home/user/example.iso:/custom.iso
Replace the example path
/home/user/example.isowith the filename of your desired ISO file. The value ofVERSIONwill be ignored in this case. -
If you want to modify the settings used during the automatic installation, you can do this by editing the answer file corresponding to your Windows edition, for example win11arm64.xml in the case of Windows 11 Pro.
Apply your modifications to it, and add this line to your compose file:
volumes: - /home/user/example.xml:/custom.xml
Replace the example path
/home/user/example.xmlwith the filename of the modified XML file. -
To run your own script after installation, you can create a file called
install.batand place it in a folder together with other files it needs (programs to install for example). Then bind it in your compose file like this:volumes: - /home/user/example:/oem
The example folder
/home/user/examplewill be copied toC:\OEMduring installation and the containinginstall.batwill be executed during the last step. -
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-okindicating that KVM acceleration can't be used, check the virtualization settings in the BIOS. -
By default, 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of RAM are allocated to the container, as those are the minimum requirements of Windows 11.
If there arises a need to increase this, add the following environment variables:
environment: RAM_SIZE: "8G" CPU_CORES: "4"
-
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
dockerand 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
mstscin the search box. -
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 vlanBe 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.
-
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.
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To create additional disks, modify your compose file like this:
environment: DISK2_SIZE: "32G" DISK3_SIZE: "64G" volumes: - /home/example:/storage2 - /mnt/data/example:/storage3
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It is possible to pass-through disk devices directly by adding them to your compose file in this way:
devices: - /dev/sdb:/disk1 - /dev/sdc:/disk2
Use
/disk1if you want it to become your main drive, and use/disk2and higher to add them as secondary drives. -
To pass-through a USB device, first lookup its vendor and product id via the
lsusbcommand, then add them to your compose file like this:environment: ARGUMENTS: "-device usb-host,vendorid=0x1234,productid=0x1234" devices: - /dev/bus/usb
-
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.
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.
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