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Windows Setup Notes

This page covers Windows-specific setup steps and common gotchas for engineers using Git and Ignition on Windows.

Docker Desktop​

Docker Desktop for Windows handles Docker natively - WSL is not required to run the Ignition Docker stack. If you installed Docker Desktop per the Workstation Setup guide, you are ready to go.

WSL 2 Backend

Docker Desktop uses the WSL 2 backend by default on Windows, which improves performance. You can verify this in Docker Desktop → Settings → General → "Use the WSL 2 based engine."

Git Line Endings​

Windows and macOS/Linux use different line endings. Git can convert them automatically.

Run this after installing Git:

git config --global core.autocrlf true

This converts LF → CRLF on checkout and CRLF → LF on commit, preventing line-ending noise in diffs when collaborating with Mac/Linux users.

note

If your project has a .gitattributes file that explicitly sets line endings, that takes precedence over this setting.

Long File Paths​

Windows limits file paths to 260 characters by default. Enable long path support to avoid errors with deeply nested Ignition project structures:

git config --global core.longpaths true

Also enable long paths in Windows:

  1. Open Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc)
  2. Navigate to: Local Computer Policy → Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → System → Filesystem
  3. Enable "Enable Win32 long paths"

Or via PowerShell (run as Administrator):

New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem" -Name "LongPathsEnabled" -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force

Optional: WSL for a Linux Shell​

If you prefer working in a Linux environment on Windows (bash, Linux CLI tools), WSL is still a good option. Install it from PowerShell:

PowerShell
$ wsl --install
Installing: Windows Subsystem for Linux
Windows Subsystem for Linux has been installed.
Installing: Ubuntu
Ubuntu has been installed.
The requested operation is successful. Changes will not be effective until the system is rebooted.

Then install Git inside WSL and use it from VS Code's integrated terminal (with the Remote - SSH extension). Docker commands from WSL will reach Docker Desktop automatically if WSL integration is enabled in Docker Desktop settings.