Windows installer¶

The Windows installer provides an easy way to set up GeoServer on your system, as it requires no configuration files to be edited or command line settings.

1. Make sure you have a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on your system. GeoServer requires a Java 11 or Java 17 environment, as provided by Adoptium Windows installers.

   Note

   For more information about Java and GeoServer, please see the section on Java Considerations.

2. Navigate to the GeoServer Download page.

3. Select the version of GeoServer that you wish to download. If you’re not sure, select Stable release.

   This documentation covers GeoServer 2.26-SNAPSHOT which is under development and is available as a Nightly release.

   Nightly releases are used to test out try out new features and test community modules and do not provide a windows installer. When GeoServer 2.26.0 is released a windows installer will be provided.

4. Click the link for the Windows Installer.

   

5. After downloading, double-click the file to launch.

6. At the Welcome screen, click Next.

   

7. Read the License and click I Agree.

   

8. Select the directory of the installation, then click Next.

   

9. Select the Start Menu directory name and location, then click Next.

   

10. Enter the path to a valid Java Runtime Environment (JRE). GeoServer requires a valid JRE in order to run, so this step is required. The installer will inspect your system and attempt to automatically populate this box with a JRE if it is found, but otherwise you will have to enter this path manually. When finished, click Next.

    Note

    A typical path on Windows would be C:\Program Files\Java\jre8.

    Note

    Don’t include the \bin in the JRE path. So if java.exe is located at C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre8\bin\java.exe, set the path to be C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre8.

    Note

    For more information about Java and GeoServer, please see the section on Java Considerations.

    

11. Enter the path to your GeoServer data directory or select the default. If this is your first time using GeoServer, select the Default data directory. When finished, click Next.

    

12. Enter the username and password for administration of GeoServer. GeoServer’s Web administration interface requires authentication for management, and what is entered here will become those administrator credentials. The defaults are admin / geoserver. It is recommended to change these from the defaults. When finished, click Next.

    

13. Enter the port that GeoServer will respond on. This affects the location of the GeoServer Web administration interface, as well as the endpoints of the GeoServer services such as Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS). The default port is 8080, though any valid and unused port will work. When finished, click Next.

    

14. Select whether GeoServer should be run manually or installed as a service. When run manually, GeoServer is run like a standard application under the current user. When installed as a service, GeoServer is integrated into Windows Services, and thus is easier to administer. If running on a server, or to manage GeoServer as a service, select Install as a service. Otherwise, select Run manually. When finished, click Next.

    

15. Review your selections and click the Back button if any changes need to be made. Otherwise, click Install.

    

16. GeoServer will install on your system.

    

17. When finished, click Finish to close the installer.

    

18. If you installed GeoServer as a service, it is already running. Otherwise, you can start GeoServer by going to the Start Menu, and clicking Start GeoServer in the GeoServer folder.

19. Navigate to http://localhost:8080/geoserver (or wherever you installed GeoServer) to access the GeoServer Web administration interface.

    If you see the GeoServer Welcome page, then GeoServer is successfully installed.