Windows

Windows runs the CLI only. actana on Windows is a client: it pairs to Cores running somewhere else and drives them — projects, sessions, harnesses. It never turns the Windows machine into a Core, and the Panel has no native Windows install either.

Component	Native on Windows
`actana` CLI, as a client of remote Cores	Yes
Core (the daemon that runs harnesses)	No — Linux, macOS on Apple silicon, or WSL2
Panel	No — Linux, or the Compose stack's containers

The rest of these docs assume Linux or macOS; this page is the Windows mapping.

Install the CLI

Requires Node and npm, as on every machine where the CLI is only a client:

npm install -g @actana/cli

Then confirm it answers:

actana --version

Pair it to a Core

The same command as on every other OS. The code comes from whoever administers the Core (actana pair new on that machine), together with its CA fingerprint:

actana core pair prod core.example:8443 XXXX-XXXX --session <id> --fingerprint AA:BB:…

The dial address must be a name on that Core's certificate. Full reference: Pair from the CLI. If pairing fails with getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND or a TLS name mismatch, the address you dialled is not one the Core certifies — see Pairing troubleshooting.

Where the Core runs instead

Another machine — the common case. The CLI dials it over the network; the address must be on that Core's certificate (a LAN IP or DNS name — since 0.4.2, one of the entries of its comma-separated ACTANA_PUBLIC_HOST).
WSL2 on this machine — the one-liner runs unchanged inside WSL with systemd enabled. The CLI on the Windows side then dials it like any remote Core.
Docker Desktop on this machine — the Compose quickstart runs as-is: its Docker commands are identical in PowerShell, host.docker.internal resolves inside the containers the same way, and only its folder-creation step differs.

Core lifecycle verbs are not for Windows

actana setup, actana install, actana start / stop / update belong to the machine that hosts a Core — Linux, macOS, or WSL2. A Windows machine never hosts one; running them there is not a supported path to a local Core. Use WSL2 for that.

Paths and environment

The CLI honours ACTANA_HOME, ACTANA_CONFIG_DIR and ACTANA_DATA_DIR — see Environment variables. In PowerShell, set them per session:

$env:ACTANA_HOME = "D:\actana"

Unset, locations follow the platform's data and config directories.