Windows Setup

Overview

YeePilot runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11 with native binaries for both x86_64 and ARM64. This guide covers installation, PATH configuration, credential storage, and how to get full sandbox features through WSL2.

System Requirements

Installation

Download the Binary

There is no automated install script for Windows yet. Download the binary manually from the releases page (opens in new tab):

• yeepilot-windows-amd64.tar.gz for standard x86_64 systems
• yeepilot-windows-arm64.tar.gz for ARM64 devices (e.g., Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops)

Extract and Install

1. Extract the downloaded archive. You can use the built-in Windows tar command in PowerShell:

tar xzf yeepilot-windows-amd64.tar.gz

2. Move the binary to a permanent location. A common choice is C:\Program Files\YeePilot\:

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path "C:\Program Files\YeePilot"
Move-Item yeepilot.exe "C:\Program Files\YeePilot\yeepilot.exe"

3. Add the directory to your system PATH so you can run yeepilot from anywhere.

Adding to PATH

Via System Settings (Persistent)

1. Press Win + S and search for "Environment Variables".
2. Click Edit the system environment variables.
3. Click Environment Variables.
4. Under User variables (or System variables for all users), select Path and click Edit.
5. Click New and add C:\Program Files\YeePilot.
6. Click OK on all dialogs.
7. Open a new terminal window for the change to take effect.

Via PowerShell (Current User, Persistent)

$currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$currentPath;C:\Program Files\YeePilot", "User")

Open a new terminal window after running this command.

Verify Installation

yeepilot version

Initial Setup

Run the interactive setup to configure your AI provider:

yeepilot setup

This creates your configuration file at %USERPROFILE%\.yeepilot\config.yaml (typically C:\Users\YourName\.yeepilot\config.yaml).

Credential Storage

YeePilot uses Windows Data Protection API (DPAPI) to securely store API keys and authentication tokens. DPAPI encrypts credentials using your Windows user account, so they are accessible only when you are logged in.

• No additional software is required.
• Credentials are stored in an encrypted file within your YeePilot config directory.
• The encryption is tied to your Windows user account. Other users on the same machine cannot decrypt them.

Terminal Recommendations

YeePilot's TUI requires a modern terminal with good Unicode and color support.

Installing Windows Terminal

If you do not have Windows Terminal installed:

winget install Microsoft.WindowsTerminal

Or download it from the Microsoft Store (opens in new tab).

Sandbox Limitations

Native Windows does not support Linux kernel namespaces. YeePilot uses process-level resource limits on Windows, which provide basic protection:

• CPU time limits -- Commands are terminated if they exceed the configured CPU time.
• Memory limits -- Process memory is capped.
• File size limits -- Individual file creation is limited.

# %USERPROFILE%\.yeepilot\config.yaml
sandbox:
  enabled: true
  use_namespaces: false  # Not available on Windows
  max_cpu_seconds: 300
  max_memory_mb: 512

For full namespace sandbox isolation, use WSL2 (see below).

WSL2 for Full Sandbox Features

Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) provides a real Linux kernel on Windows, enabling YeePilot's full namespace sandbox with user, PID, mount, and network isolation.

Installing WSL2

If you do not have WSL2 installed:

wsl --install

This installs WSL2 with Ubuntu by default. Restart your computer when prompted.

Installing YeePilot in WSL2

Open your WSL2 terminal and install YeePilot using the Linux install script:

curl -fsSL https://yee.to/install.sh | bash

Inside WSL2, YeePilot has access to the full Linux feature set:

• Full namespace sandbox isolation
• GNOME Keyring credential storage (if configured)
• Tamper-evident audit logging with hash chains

Accessing Windows Files from WSL2

Your Windows drives are mounted under /mnt/ in WSL2:

# Access your Windows home directory
ls /mnt/c/Users/YourName/
 
# Run YeePilot against Windows-hosted files
yeepilot run

When to Use WSL2 vs. Native Windows

Running YeePilot as a Service

If you want YeePilot's auto-update checks to run in the background, you can use Windows Task Scheduler. However, for most users, the automatic update check on startup is sufficient.

Updating

Check for and install updates:

yeepilot update

Or check without installing:

yeepilot update --check

To update manually, download the new binary from the releases page and replace the existing yeepilot.exe file.

Uninstalling

Remove YeePilot and all its data:

yeepilot uninstall --all

Or remove only the binary:

yeepilot uninstall --binary-only

For manual removal:

1. Delete the binary: C:\Program Files\YeePilot\yeepilot.exe
2. Delete the config directory: %USERPROFILE%\.yeepilot\
3. Remove C:\Program Files\YeePilot from your PATH.

If you also installed in WSL2, uninstall separately from within the WSL2 terminal:

yeepilot uninstall --all