Installing Docker on Windows

Before deploying a Novant virtual node on Windows, you’ll need Docker Desktop installed and running. This guide walks through installation, user permissions, and deploying the virtual node.

Install Docker Desktop

Download the Docker Desktop installer from the official Docker website.
Double-click Docker Desktop Installer.exe to run the installer.
When prompted, choose your backend:
- WSL 2 — recommended for better performance
- Hyper-V — use if WSL 2 is not available on your system
If your system only supports one option, it will be selected automatically.
Follow the installation wizard and authorize the installer when prompted.
Select Close when the installation completes.

User Permissions

If your admin account differs from your day-to-day user account, you’ll need to add your user to the docker-users group:

Open Computer Management as Administrator.
Navigate to Local Users and Groups > Groups > docker-users.
Right-click and add your user account to the group.
Sign out and sign back in for the change to take effect.
Launch Docker Desktop.

Verify Installation

Open a command prompt and run:

docker --version

You should see the installed Docker version printed back. If Docker Desktop is not running, start it from the Start menu before running this command.

Deploy the Virtual Node

Follow the Setting Up Your Virtual Node guide for the full docker-compose.yaml configuration and options. The steps below show how to set up the directory structure and volume mapping on Windows.

Create the project directory:
```
mkdir C:\novant-node
cd C:\novant-node
```
Create your docker-compose.yaml in this folder using the template from the setup guide, setting the volume mapping to:
```
volumes:
  - C:\novant-node\data:/data/
```

Create the data directories:

mkdir C:\novant-node\data
mkdir C:\novant-node\data\secrets

Install the license by copying the license content from your Novant project’s Nodes tab and saving it as:
```
C:\novant-node\data\secrets\node.license
```
Start the container:
```
docker compose up -d
```

Next Steps

Once Docker is installed and running, follow the Setting Up Your Virtual Node guide to deploy your Novant virtual node.