Run on Windows (WSL2)

SocTalk is Kubernetes-native. On Windows it runs as k3s (lightweight Kubernetes) inside WSL2 — installed and wired up for you by a single PowerShell command. No Docker Desktop required.

Just evaluating?

The VM appliance (Hyper-V vhdx or VirtualBox) is the simplest and most robust way to try SocTalk on Windows — it's a self-contained Linux VM, nothing to configure. The WSL2 path on this page is the local-cluster convenience option for developers who'd rather not run a full VM.

Architecture

SocTalk images are amd64-only, so this works on Windows x64. On Windows on ARM the image set would need emulation.

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 2004 (build 19041) or newer, or Windows 11 — x64
• Administrator PowerShell (the installer enables Windows features and configures WSL2)
• CPU virtualization enabled in firmware (WSL2 needs it; in a VM, enable nested virtualization)

You do not need to pre-install WSL2, Ubuntu, or Docker — the installer handles all of it.

One-click install

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soctalk/soctalk/main/install.ps1 | iex

What happens:

1. Enables WSL2 (one reboot — log back in and the install resumes automatically at your next logon; WSL2 can't run as the SYSTEM account, so the resume runs in your session).
2. Imports an Ubuntu distro and enables systemd inside it.
3. Installs k3s as a systemd service inside WSL2, then deploys SocTalk and onboards a demo tenant.
4. Exposes the UI to Windows at https://localhost/ (a netsh portproxy forwards to the cluster inside WSL2; a logon task refreshes it after reboots).

When it finishes it prints the URL and demo credentials. Open https://localhost/ in your browser, accept the self-signed certificate, and sign in.

For a real (non-demo) install, pass -Real to be prompted for the MSSP name, admin email/password, and LLM key (or set the SOCTALK_* env vars):

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/soctalk/soctalk/main/install.ps1))) -Real

What it does (under the hood)

The PowerShell installer bootstraps WSL2, then runs the same install.sh the Linux appliance uses, with k3s as the runtime:

# inside the WSL2 Ubuntu distro, as root:
curl -sfL https://get.k3s.io | sh -          # k3s as a systemd service
helm upgrade --install soctalk-system \
  oci://ghcr.io/soctalk/charts/soctalk-system --version 0.1.4 \
  --namespace soctalk-system --create-namespace -f values.yaml

The ingress host is localhost, and a Windows netsh portproxy (localhost:443 → the WSL2 IP) makes it reachable from your browser.

Caveats

• One reboot is required to finish enabling WSL2; log back in afterward and the install continues on its own.
• Keep the cluster's WSL distro running — k3s lives inside it. The installer sets vmIdleTimeout=-1 so WSL2 doesn't idle out, and a logon task re-boots WSL + refreshes the localhost forward after a Windows restart.
• The WSL2 path is the local-cluster convenience option. For an always-on / production-style install on Windows, prefer the VM appliance (Hyper-V/VirtualBox) — a single Linux VM with no WSL2 networking moving parts.
• amd64 images → Windows x64 only.

Tear down

# remove the host forward + logon tasks
netsh interface portproxy reset
Get-ScheduledTask SocTalk* | Unregister-ScheduledTask -Confirm:$false

# remove the cluster (inside WSL) and/or the whole distro
wsl -d Ubuntu -u root -- /usr/local/bin/k3s-uninstall.sh
wsl --unregister Ubuntu      # optional: remove the distro entirely

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Check
Install didn't continue after the reboot	log back in as the same user — the resume runs at your logon. Re-running install.ps1 is safe (completed steps are skipped).
https://localhost/ not loading	the WSL2 IP may have changed; the SocTalkExpose scheduled task refreshes the forward — run it (Start-ScheduledTask SocTalkExpose) or re-run, then retry.
503 from https://localhost/	the forward works but pods aren't ready yet — wsl -d Ubuntu -u root -- k3s kubectl -n soctalk-system get pods and wait for Running.
WSL2 fails to start	enable CPU virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V) in firmware; in a VM, enable nested virtualization.
Anything past the wizard	same as every platform — see the Quickstart troubleshooting table.