Install Forge Agent CLI on Windows

Applies to Windows x64 CLI/setup 0.17.5. See release applicability. This is the technician installation. For a customer device, use enrollment.

Requirements

Windows x64 and an ordinary user account.
HTTPS connectivity to Forge and its browser sign-in service.
OpenSSH client tools: ssh, scp and ssh-keygen.

The self-contained setup needs no .NET runtime download or administrator elevation. It does not install the Windows OpenSSH server. If client tools are missing, obtain the Windows OpenSSH Client optional feature through your normal administrator-approved software process.

Download and install

Open Download Forge.
Choose the Windows x64 technician installer. The page identifies the selected version, publisher, size and SHA-256.
Verify the downloaded file's digital signature and publisher before running it. Do not bypass an invalid signature or unexpected publisher.
Run the installer as the user who will run Forge. Select installation in the native setup window.
Restart existing terminals and coding agents so they receive the new PATH.

The stable latest Windows installer redirects to the currently verified release. The ZIP alternative is also available; retain the complete package rather than copying only forge.exe.

The default installation is under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Forge\cli, with the stable launcher in its bin directory. Setup installs complete versioned generations rather than overlaying an old version.

First run

forge --version
forge login
forge whoami
forge doctor

Windows Credential Manager protects remembered login credentials. Run Forge under the same Windows account that installed and signed in to it. Browser login is explicit; installation does not silently sign you in.

Continue with getting started.

Scripted setup

The signed setup also supports silent installation. With the current installer in your working directory:

.\forge-setup-0.17.5-win-x64.exe --silent

Use the filename actually downloaded if a newer version is selected. --verify-only verifies the embedded package without activating it. For either silent installation or verification, --result may name a new, absolute .json path in an existing directory for a bounded setup receipt. This is an output path, not a credential. Setup rejects an existing result file.

Update, repair and uninstall

forge update
forge --version

Updates verify and stage a complete signed version. Existing profiles and connections are preserved; already running processes may continue using an older generation until restarted. Updating the technician CLI does not publish a new customer Daemon release.

To repair, rerun the current signed setup. To remove the technician tool, use its Windows installed-app entry or the signed setup's --uninstall option. Uninstall preserves profiles and credentials; use forge logout --all before uninstalling when the intention is also to remove remembered logins and live access from this workstation.

Do not delete profile or host-key files as a repair shortcut. If installation, PATH or signature checks fail, see troubleshooting.

Table of Contents