Running servers on a Windows 11 PC

(Windows 10 22H2 works only through the Cosmic Warp relay; see below.)

You can use a Windows 11 PC as a Cosmic Warp machine. Game servers run on Linux, so the installer quietly sets up Ubuntu inside Windows (using WSL, a feature built into Windows 11) and connects it to your account. You keep using Windows as normal.

This is new. It hasn't been tested on many PCs yet. If something doesn't work, tell us what the installer printed.

What you need

• Windows 11, version 22H2 or newer (recommended). To check, press Windows + R, type winver and press Enter. Windows 10 22H2 works only through the Cosmic Warp relay: without it, Windows 10 can't pass incoming game traffic into Linux.
• Virtualization turned on. Most PCs have it on already. If the installer says it's off, restart into your BIOS or UEFI setup (usually F2, F10 or Delete while the PC starts), turn on "Intel Virtualization Technology", "VT-x", "AMD-V" or "SVM Mode", save, and run the installer again.
• Enough memory. Game servers use the same RAM as your games and browser. 16 GB is a sensible minimum for one small server; 32 GB is better.
• A PC that stays on. Servers only run while the PC is on and awake. Set Windows to never sleep while plugged in (Settings, System, Power).
• A wired connection if you can. Wi-Fi works, but game servers are happier on a cable.

The easy way: Cosmic Warp Setup

1. In Warp View, open Connect a machine, choose This computer, then Download for Windows. (Setting up a different PC? Choose Another computer and open the link it gives you on that PC.)
2. Open the downloaded file and say Yes when Windows asks for permission. It's already linked to your account, so there's nothing to type.
3. It checks your PC and turns on WSL. If Windows needs a restart, Setup offers to do it and carries on by itself afterwards.
4. It checks whether friends can reach your PC from the internet. If they can't (common with Starlink, 5G home internet and some routers), it connects through the Cosmic Warp relay on paid plans; on the Free plan it tells you how to set up port forwarding.
5. It installs Ubuntu, Docker and the game server agent (5 to 15 minutes), then shows All set. If you picked a game on Start, your server starts by itself.

Cosmic Warp then sits in the tray by the clock: green when it's online, amber through the relay, red when it's offline. Right-click it to open Warp View, Fix connection, Pause hosting, or turn off Start with Windows. It checks for updates by itself.

Downloaded the app without a link, or the link expired? It shows a 6-digit code instead: enter it in Warp View (Connect a machine) or at cosmicwarpview.com/pair.

"Windows protected your PC"

Cosmic Warp Setup is new and isn't code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn you. Choose More info, then Run anyway. Why it's safe: it only downloads from cosmicwarpview.com, it runs the same open installer script that's described below (you can read it at cosmicwarpview.com/install-node-windows.ps1), and it never asks for your password; Windows' own permission prompt is the only one.

Install with a command (the manual way)

1. In Warp View, open Connect a machine, choose the Windows 11 tab and click Generate install command.
2. Right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin) (or "Windows PowerShell (Admin)"). Say yes to the security prompt.
3. Paste the command and press Enter.

The installer:

1. Checks your Windows version and that virtualization is on.
2. Turns on WSL. The first time, Windows may need one restart. Restart, open Terminal (Admin) again and paste the same command. If more than 30 minutes have passed, generate a new command in Warp View first: each one works once and expires.
3. Installs Ubuntu 24.04 inside Windows.
4. Sets Ubuntu up as a server: it keeps running in the background, and it shares your PC's network so game ports reach it.
5. Runs Cosmic Warp's normal Linux installer inside Ubuntu, which installs Docker and the game server agent and connects the machine to your account.
6. Opens the game ports in Windows Firewall.
7. Adds a scheduled task called "Cosmic Warp machine" so everything starts again when the PC restarts.

Within a minute the PC shows as Online in Warp View.

Running the command again is safe: it only fixes what's missing.

Starlink, 5G home internet, or no port forwarding: the relay

On Starlink, 5G home internet and many mobile or fixed-wireless plans, nothing on your router can let players in (CGNAT). Tick Starlink, 5G home internet, or can't forward ports? before generating the command (paid plans). The command then ends in -Relay, and:

• the machine keeps an outgoing, encrypted tunnel to the Cosmic Warp relay, so nothing is opened on your PC or router;
• players join at the relay's address, which Warp View shows on each server;
• WSL keeps its normal network settings, and Windows 10 22H2 works too (Windows 11 is still recommended);
• after a restart, the tunnel comes back by itself with everything else.

See how the relay works for what it does and doesn't do.

Letting friends join

With the relay, friends just use the address Warp View shows. Without it:

Friends on your home network can join right away.

Friends outside your home need port forwarding on your router, the same as any game server you host at home. Warp View shows which ports each server uses, and Can players reach this machine? on the machine checks whether they're open from the internet. See the port forwarding guide.

Forward TCP 8080 to the PC as well. Port 8080 lets Cosmic Warp's control panel talk to your machine securely (it's how Warp View starts, stops and swaps your servers); players never use it. Linux machines can use tunnel mode instead of opening 8080, but the Windows installer doesn't offer it yet.

Good to know

• Your PC's own settings: the installer writes a .wslconfig file in your user folder (C:\Users\<you>\.wslconfig) with three settings: networkingMode=mirrored, vmIdleTimeout=-1 and firewall=true. Anything else already in that file is kept.
• Firewall rules: they're named "Cosmic Warp ..." in Windows Defender Firewall, so you can find them later.
• Stopping: to take the PC out, remove the machine in Warp View, then in Task Scheduler delete the "Cosmic Warp machine" task. To remove Ubuntu completely, run wsl --unregister Ubuntu-24.04 (this deletes everything inside it, including server files).
• Games you play on the same PC still work. A server and a game on the same PC share its CPU and memory, so a big server can slow your game down.

Problems

• "Run this in an ADMINISTRATOR PowerShell": open Terminal (Admin), not the normal Terminal.
• "This is Windows 10": use the relay command (tick the relay box in Warp View), or upgrade to Windows 11. With the relay, Windows 10 needs version 22H2: run Windows Update until winver says 22H2.
• "can't create the relay tunnel (WireGuard)": run wsl --update in Terminal (Admin), restart the PC, and run the command again.
• "Virtualization is turned off": see "What you need" above.
• The machine shows Offline after a restart: check Task Scheduler for the "Cosmic Warp machine" task and that it ran. Signing in to Windows once also starts it.
• Friends can't connect: follow the port forwarding guide.