# Install Portainer CE with Docker Swarm on Windows Container Service

{% hint style="info" %}
These installation instructions are for Portainer Community Edition (CE). For Portainer Business Edition (BE) refer to the [BE install documentation](/start/install/server/swarm/wcs.md).
{% endhint %}

## Introduction

Portainer consists of two elements, the *Portainer Server*, and the *Portainer Agent*. Both elements run as lightweight Docker containers on a Docker engine. This document will help you install the Portainer Server container on your Windows server with Windows Containers. To add a new WCS environment to an existing Portainer Server installation, please refer to the [Portainer Agent installation instructions](/admin/environments/add/swarm/agent.md).

To get started, you will need:

* The latest version of Docker installed and working.
* Swarm mode [enabled](https://docs.docker.com/engine/swarm/swarm-mode/) and working, including the overlay network for the swarm service communication.
* Administrator access on the manager node of your Swarm cluster.
* By default, Portainer will expose the UI over port `9443` and expose a TCP tunnel server over port `8000`. The latter is optional and is only required if you plan to use the Edge compute features with Edge agents.
* The manager and worker nodes must be able to communicate with each other over port `9001`.

The installation instructions also make the following assumptions about your environment:

* Your environment meets [our requirements](/start/requirements-and-prerequisites.md). While Portainer may work with other configurations, it may require configuration changes or have limited functionality.
* You are running a single manager node in your swarm. If you have more than one, please [read this article](/faqs/installing/how-can-i-ensure-portainers-configuration-is-retained.md) before proceeding.
* If your nodes are using DNS records to communicate, that all records are resolvable across the cluster.

## Preparation

To run Portainer Server in a Windows Server/Desktop Environment you need to create exceptions in the firewall. These can easily be added through PowerShell by running the following commands:

```
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="cluster_management" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=2377
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="node_communication_tcp" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=7946
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="node_communication_udp" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=7946
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="overlay_network" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=4789
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="swarm_dns_tcp" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=53
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="swarm_dns_udp" dir=in action=allow protocol=UDP localport=53
```

You will also need to install the Windows Container Host Service and install Docker. Microsoft have [provided](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/quick-start/set-up-environment?tabs=dockerce#windows-server-1) a PowerShell script to perform the necessary actions. You can download the script and run it with the following commands:

```
Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/Windows-Containers/Main/helpful_tools/Install-DockerCE/install-docker-ce.ps1" -o install-docker-ce.ps1
.\install-docker-ce.ps1
```

Once this is complete you will need to restart your Windows server. After the restart completes, you're ready to install Portainer itself.

## Deployment

Portainer can be directly deployed as a service in your Docker cluster. Note that this method will automatically deploy a single instance of the Portainer Server, and deploy the Portainer Agent as a global service on every node in your cluster.

{% hint style="danger" %}
Only do this **once** for your environment, regardless of how many nodes are in the cluster. You **do not** need to add each node in your cluster as a separate environment in Portainer. Deploying the manifest to your swarm will include every node in the cluster automatically. Adding each node as a separate environment will also consume more of your licensed node count than you may expect.
{% endhint %}

You can use our YML manifest to run Portainer in Windows using Windows Containers. In PowerShell, run:

```
curl https://downloads.portainer.io/ce-lts/portainer_windows_stack.yml -o portainer-windows-stack.yml
```

Then use the downloaded YML manifest to deploy your stack:

```bash
docker stack deploy --compose-file=portainer-windows-stack.yml portainer
```

{% hint style="info" %}
By default, Portainer generates and uses a self-signed SSL certificate to secure port `9443`. Alternatively you can provide your own SSL certificate [during installation](/advanced/ssl.md#using-your-own-ssl-certificate-on-docker-swarm) or [via the Portainer UI](/admin/settings.md#ssl-certificate) after installation is complete.
{% endhint %}

## Logging In

Now that the installation is complete, you can log into your Portainer Server instance by opening a web browser and going to:

```bash
https://localhost:9443
```

Replace `localhost` with the relevant IP address or FQDN if needed, and adjust the port if you changed it earlier.

You will be presented with the initial setup page for Portainer Server.

{% content-ref url="/pages/bA9iGSfW8AABKbqWqU7A" %}
[Initial setup](/start/install-ce/server/setup.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.portainer.io/start/install-ce/server/swarm/wcs.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.