Red Hat Summit Red Hat SummitSupportConsoleDevelopersStart a trialContact

Install on Windows

Red Hat build of Podman Desktop 1.0

Explore how you can install Red Hat build of Podman Desktop on Windows.

Red Hat Customer Content Services

Abstract

Use the installer file to install Red Hat build of Podman Desktop. Complete the installation by setting up the necessary Podman engine and an initial Podman machine.

Preface
Copy link

Install Red Hat build of Podman Desktop by using the Windows installer. Set up a lightweight Linux virtual machine known as the Podman machine. For optimal performance and ease of use, set Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2 (WSL 2) as your default. Alternatively, you can choose Hyper-V to provision the Podman machine. However, you must have administrator privileges to enable either WSL 2 or Hyper-V.

The onboarding workflow helps you install the Podman engine and create a default Podman machine. It also offers optional CLI tools, such as kubectl and compose.

Chapter 1. Install using the Windows installer
Copy link

Install the Red Hat build of Podman Desktop using the Windows installer to simplify the setup process. This installer automatically configures the application and prepares the necessary environment for you.

During setup, you can install the application for all users, which requires administrative privileges and a credential prompt. Alternatively, you can install it for the current user only, which does not require administrative privileges.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. Download the installer file:

    1. Go to the Downloads page.
    2. Click Download on the Windows tile.
  2. Locate the file in the Downloads folder, and double-click it. The Red Hat build of Podman Desktop Setup screen opens.
  3. Select whether to install the application for all users or only for the current user.
  4. Click Install.
  5. After the installation is complete, click Finish to close the screen.

Verification

  • Check that the Get started with Red Hat build of Podman Desktop screen opens after installation.

Next steps

Chapter 2. Install Podman
Copy link

On Windows, running the Podman container engine requires a Linux distribution to run in a virtual machine. You can use Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2 (WSL 2) or Hyper-V as the machine provider.

During Podman installation, ensure that you have administrator privileges to enable the WSL or Hyper-V feature and to create the Podman machine.

2.1. Use WSL 2 as the machine provider
Copy link

Red Hat build of Podman Desktop helps you to create a Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2 (WSL 2) virtual machine, also known as the Podman machine. The major benefits include ease of use and native WSL 2 virtualization performance.

However, you must enable the WSL feature. This is required by Red Hat build of Podman Desktop to create the default wsl Podman machine.

Prerequisites

Before using WSL 2 as the machine provider, ensure that your environment meets the following requirements:

  • 6 GB of RAM for the Podman machine.

  • Required WSL 2 prerequisites:

    • Administrator privileges for the Windows user.
    • A Windows 11 (64-bit) machine.
    • Enable nested virtualization on a virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Run the following commands to enable the WSL feature without installing the default Ubuntu distribution of Linux: 

    > wsl --update
> wsl --install --no-distribution
  2. Restart your machine.

Verification

  • Run the wsl --status command in the CLI to check that WSL 2 is available.

2.2. Use Hyper-V as the machine provider
Copy link

As an administrator, you can set up a Podman machine using Hyper-V as the provider. Hyper-V on Windows helps you to run multiple operating systems on a single machine. This speeds up deployment, isolates environments for better security, and simplifies management through native Windows tools and PowerShell.

You must enable the Hyper-V feature. This is required by Red Hat build of Podman Desktop to create the Hyperv Podman machine.

Prerequisites

Before using Hyper-V as the machine provider, ensure that your environment meets the following requirements:

  • 6 GB of RAM for the Podman machine.

  • Required Hyper-V prerequisites:

    • Administrator privileges for the Windows user.
    • A Windows 11 (64-bit) machine.
    • Enable nested virtualization on a virtual machine.

Procedure

  1. Run the following command to enable the Hyper-V feature:

    Using command prompt

    > DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /All /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V

    Using PowerShell

    > Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All

  2. Restart your machine.

Verification

  • Check that Hyper-V is active.

    Using command prompt

    > systeminfo

    Using PowerShell

    > Get-Service vmcompute

Once Red Hat build of Podman Desktop is installed, install the required dependencies to begin using the application.

After installation, the Get started with Red Hat build of Podman Desktop screen helps you to start the onboarding process. You can skip this setup and complete it later using one of the following ways:

  • Use the Set up button in the notification on the Dashboard page.
  • Use the Setup Podman button on the Podman tile, located on the Settings > Resources page.

Procedure

  1. On the Get started with Red Hat build of Podman Desktop screen, click Start Onboarding.

    Important

    The onboarding setup opens automatically when you first launch the application. However, you can skip this setup manually, or your administrator can disable it.

  2. Perform the following steps to install Podman:

    1. Click Next. A confirmation notification opens.
    2. Click Yes. The Podman Setup screen opens with the default WSLv2 virtualization provider selected.
    3. Optional: If you want to use the Windows Hyper-V provider, select the other option.
    4. Click Install. A notification stating Installation Successfully Completed appears on the screen.
    5. Click Close. A page notifying that Podman is set up correctly opens.

  3. Perform the following steps to create a Podman machine:

    1. Click Next. A page notifying you to create a Podman machine opens.

    2. Click Next, and then click Create.

      Note

      You can also create additional Podman machines of any provider type later. For more details, refer to Configure a Podman machine.

  4. Click Next, and follow the instructions on the screen to install the kubectl and compose CLIs.
  5. After installing the CLIs, click Next to go to the Dashboard page.

Verification

  • Go to the Settings > Resources page, and view the running Podman machine on the Podman tile.

You are ready to use the application.

Legal Notice
Copy link

Copyright © Red Hat.
Except as otherwise noted below, the text of and illustrations in this documentation are licensed by Red Hat under the Creative Commons Attribution–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license . If you distribute this document or an adaptation of it, you must provide the URL for the original version.
Red Hat, as the licensor of this document, waives the right to enforce, and agrees not to assert, Section 4d of CC-BY-SA to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
Red Hat, the Red Hat logo, JBoss, Hibernate, and RHCE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Red Hat, LLC. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Linux® is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and other countries.
XFS is a trademark or registered trademark of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
The OpenStack® Word Mark and OpenStack logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Linux Foundation, used under license.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Red Hat logoGithubredditYoutubeTwitter

Learn

Try, buy, & sell

Communities

About Red Hat Documentation

We help Red Hat users innovate and achieve their goals with our products and services with content they can trust. Explore our recent updates.

Making open source more inclusive

Red Hat is committed to replacing problematic language in our code, documentation, and web properties. For more details, see the Red Hat Blog.

About Red Hat

We deliver hardened solutions that make it easier for enterprises to work across platforms and environments, from the core datacenter to the network edge.

Theme

© 2026 Red HatBack to top