# Install CockroachDB on Windows

See Release Notes for what's new in the latest release, v20.1.17. To upgrade to this release from an older version, see Cluster Upgrade.

Tip:
To try CockroachDB Cloud instead of running CockroachDB yourself, refer to the Cloud Quickstart.

## Install options

Use one of the options below to install CockroachDB.

### Download the executable

Warning:
CockroachDB executable for Windows is experimental and not suitable for production deployments. Windows 8 or higher is required.

1. Download and extract the CockroachDB v20.1.17 archive for Windows.

2. To ensure that CockroachDB can use location-based names as time zone identifiers, download Go's official zoneinfo.zip and set the `ZONEINFO` environment variable to point to the zip file.

3. Open PowerShell, navigate to the directory containing the executable, and make sure it works:

       PS C:\cockroach-v20.1.17.windows-6.2-amd64> .\cockroach.exe version

4. Keep up-to-date with CockroachDB releases and best practices:

   Thanks!

### Use Kubernetes

To orchestrate CockroachDB locally using Kubernetes, either with configuration files or the Helm package manager, see Orchestrate CockroachDB Locally with Minikube.

### Use Docker

Warning:
Running a stateful application like CockroachDB in Docker is more complex and error-prone than most uses of Docker. Unless you are very experienced with Docker, we recommend starting with a different installation and deployment method.

1. Install Docker for Windows.

   Docker for Windows requires 64bit Windows 10 Pro and Microsoft Hyper-V. Please see the official documentation for more details. Note that if your system does not satisfy the stated requirements, you can try using Docker Toolbox.

2. Open PowerShell and confirm that the Docker daemon is running in the background:

       PS C:\Users\username> docker version

   If you do not see the server listed, start Docker for Windows.

3. Share your local drives. This makes it possible to mount local directories as data volumes to persist node data after containers are stopped or deleted.

4. Pull the image for the v20.1.17 release of CockroachDB from Docker Hub:

       PS C:\Users\username> docker pull cockroachdb/cockroach:v20.1.17

5. Keep up-to-date with CockroachDB releases and best practices:

   Thanks!

## What's next?

- If you're just getting started with CockroachDB:
  - Start a cluster locally and talk to it via the built-in SQL client
  - Learn more about CockroachDB SQL
  - Build a simple application with CockroachDB using Postgres-compatible client drivers and ORMs
  - Explore core CockroachDB features like automatic replication, rebalancing, and fault tolerance
- If you're ready to run CockroachDB in production:
  - Review the Production Checklist
  - Deploy CockroachDB manually or use an orchestration system like Kubernetes

Note:
By default, each node of a CockroachDB cluster periodically shares anonymous usage details with Cockroach Labs. For an explanation of the details that get shared and how to opt-out of reporting, see Diagnostics Reporting.