> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://taraxa.gitbook.io/taraxa-network/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://taraxa.gitbook.io/taraxa-network/node-setup/testnet_node_setup-1/windows.md).

# Windows

Guide for running the Taraxa Node with Docker on Windows

{% hint style="info" %}
These instructions are specific to Windows. Instructions are also available for [Mac](broken://pages/-MYp9ZMFv3Jl061AYoUm) and [Linux](broken://pages/-MYp9ZMETDZ5nHxoeZSg).
{% endhint %}

## 1. Install Docker

Before running the node we need to install Docker.

You can download Docker Desktop for Windows from [here](https://desktop.docker.com/win/stable/amd64/Docker%20Desktop%20Installer.exe).

![Download Docker](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-da68564d15867c4ee7d129fa945bd1d8ea91dc96%2F1-download.png?alt=media)

After the download finishes you will find the executable file in your downloads folder.

![Downloaded Docker](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-b8f1c5120c83d3d2dcdf8c86fab45ea8754fb5ec%2F2-downloaded.png?alt=media)

Open `Docker Desktop Installer.exe`. and you should see a screen similar to this:

![Open Docker](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-7754123be769639f2882206aaeac8ffbab774a42%2F3-open.png?alt=media)

Press "Ok" and don't uncheck any of the default options.

Now Docker is installing:

![Install Docker](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ff25bb55c13f46595c6cf9caa2215a0fa9a6e8ec%2F4-install.png?alt=media)

After the installation is finished you can click the "Close" button and Docker is going to start automatically.

![Docker Installed](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-cef7b1fa99da102e7b157dcaa58bb1c7b14b1b4f%2F5-installed.png?alt=media)

## 2. Install WSL 2

Docker needs to install extra dependencies for running Linux containers on Windows.

You will get a notice similar to the one below.

*NOTE: Don't close the notice window*

If you click on the provided link a new browser window will open and we can download the dependency.

![WSL Notice](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-ff8e9ade4f93f99e18f6fb2c034eb4fed40d80e7%2F6-wsl-notice.png?alt=media)

Click on the link under "Download the latest package"

![Download WSL 2](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-4f9fb3653ebf22128a3d9868ad77b98e7427c3f0%2F7-wsl-download.png?alt=media)

You can find the executable in your downloads folder.

![WSL 2 Downloaded](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f7d53767d69ab4b36659a34c163357ab3857985c%2F8-wsl-downloaded.png?alt=media)

Open the executable and click "Next" on the first screen.

![Install WSL 2](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-4fe3e6f992ad4012a6eb82f2a785b2824681ae32%2F9-wsl-install.png?alt=media)

After the setup is complete click the "Finish" button.

![WSL 2 Installed](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-2b6e2a129075ff9a7f9d9b37c8dfa952476d2aca%2F10-wsl-finish.png?alt=media)

Now you can click the "Restart" button on the original notice window.

![Restart WSL 2](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-c36560ba58ba30a3f59ec78e5819cff8d255ec21%2F11-wsl-restart.png?alt=media)

## 3. Starting Docker Desktop

If everything went well you will see the following message.

![Docker Desktop is starting notification](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-cebc6a3c8a9baa7be5ba83962ebedf0caf8c858b%2F12-docker-stating.png?alt=media)

And if you open the Docker Desktop application you should see the following window.

![Docker Desktop App is starting](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-7b1420cf6f98aa71d1f8952c9a0efc33cfb41b15%2F13-docker-starting-2.png?alt=media)

When Docker Desktop starts successfuly you will see the yellow icon turn green.

![Docker Desktop Started](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-baee98a96498ff0d2bb3e619d623df73789cfda0%2F14-docker-started.png?alt=media)

## 4. Download Taraxa scripts

In order to run the node we need a set of scripts. You can download the scripts from [this link](https://github.com/Taraxa-project/taraxa-ops).

![Download Taraxa Scripts](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f532c1fea693f3c99c913766a7418890c4f22bfe%2F15-download-scripts.png?alt=media)

{% hint style="danger" %}
GitHub is blocked in some countries. If you can't access the previous link please refer to the [GitHub is blocked](https://docs.taraxa.io/node-setup/testnet_node_setup/github_blocked) document.
{% endhint %}

Click on "Download ZIP" under the "Code" menu and the download should start.

After the download is complete you can find a new zip file in your downloads folder.

Right click on the file and select the "Extract All" option.

![Extract Scripts](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-5bde6220a10af78f4e31c2ddd26fd9f25eed1fe4%2F17-open-extract-scripts.png?alt=media)

In the first screen click the "Browse" button.

![Extract Browse](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-7aa57cb54c99afc8b2a07c47e4ec28347787e3a2%2F18-extract-scripts.png?alt=media)

Now select "Desktop" from the left menu.

![Select Desktop](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-4deb32b3c634b3b7fa1296a2efa31a28bc0dd0c6%2F19-extract-scripts-desktop.png?alt=media)

And finally click the "Extract" button.

![Extract](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-86e0e6007e9a2f7bb3459783c44dc23513283df7%2F20-extract.png?alt=media)

You should see a new folder on your Desktop.

![Extracted](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-63a7877933a646d2b675d5073b27d20b1bf3e297%2F21-extracted.png?alt=media)

## 5. Start the Taraxa Node

For starting the actual node software we need to use the PowerShell console.

Click on the start menu and type `PowerShell`.

When the application appears open it.

![Open PowerShell](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-d6c8c5c4211e5e5586c0c58ce633d02a67a4e7d4%2F22-open-powershell.png?alt=media)

You should see a window similar to this:

![PowerShell Opened](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-a2aed4716ce7b532211f9aab6aa1a2b4a94fbaf0%2F23-powershell-opened.png?alt=media)

Type the following commands one by one:

```bash
cd .\Desktop\taraxa-ops-master\taraxa_compose\
docker-compose up -d
docker-compose logs -f
```

![Go to Scripts Folder](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-d4c538a2d3e6573c5cc6b6430bc2bdf5d341203d%2F24-go-to-folder.png?alt=media)

Now docker is pulling the Taraxa Node image. You should see something similar to this:

![Start the Taraxa Node](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-2db4dcd3b5dad2367a848e721b30ca77cf148655%2F25-docker-compose-up.png?alt=media)

After it finishes pulling the latest version the node will start and you should see something similar to the following:

![Node running](https://902105633-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2F-MJepYMaCjWn_0Y0r41o%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-32f20473e17c4c0174d57e3354cee47ab3ab9a52%2F26-node-running.png?alt=media)

\_NOTE: You can press `CTRL` + `C` to stop displaying the logs

## 6. Update the Taraxa Node

From time to time we will announce software updates and breaking protocol changes to the testnet via the #node-operations channel in our [Taraxa community Discord](https://discord.com/invite/WaXnwUb), Telegram channel and Twitter account.

{% content-ref url="/pages/-M\_XFshE0J2ZfGijLjDZ" %}
[Upgrade a Node](/taraxa-network/node-setup/upgrade-a-node.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}