# A Windows-native AI coding agent, no WSL required > Atlas is a Windows-native AI coding agent: it runs directly on Windows with its own installer, no WSL or Linux subsystem required. Atlas runs natively on Windows. You install it with a PowerShell installer and run it directly in your Windows terminal, with no Windows Subsystem for Linux and no separate Linux environment in between. Native support means Atlas handles Windows paths, shells, git configuration, and file locking the Windows way rather than assuming a POSIX system, so the agent behaves correctly against your actual Windows repositories. Atlas ships as a single self-contained binary for macOS, Linux, and Windows. ## Key takeaways - Atlas runs directly on Windows with a PowerShell installer, no WSL needed. - It handles Windows paths, the cmd shell, and Windows git settings natively. - File operations use Windows-aware locking and retry, so edits and cleanup are reliable. - The same self-contained single binary covers macOS, Linux, and Windows. ## What native Windows support means Many terminal coding agents assume a Linux-like environment and ask Windows users to run everything inside WSL. Atlas runs on Windows directly, so there is no subsystem boundary between the agent and your code. Running through WSL adds a second filesystem and shell to reason about, which can confuse an agent about paths, line endings, and which environment a command should run in. Atlas avoids that by targeting Windows as a first-class platform. You install it with PowerShell and run it in the terminal you already use, against the repositories where they actually live on disk. ## How Atlas handles Windows correctly Native support is in the details. Atlas branches on the platform throughout its core: it uses the Windows shell, normalizes Windows paths, and applies the git settings Windows repositories need. Atlas configures git for long paths, symlinks, and line-ending behavior on Windows, chooses the right shell for running commands, and canonicalizes paths so file matching is consistent. When it removes a worktree or cleans a directory, it uses a Windows-aware retry so file locks held by other processes do not leave the tree in a broken state. These are the rough edges that break agents ported from Linux as an afterthought. ## The same agent everywhere Windows support is not a stripped-down build. The same Atlas features, from worktree management to concurrent sessions to permission-gated edits, run on Windows exactly as they do on macOS and Linux. Because Atlas is one binary with first-class Windows handling, a team on mixed operating systems gets the same workflow on every machine. You pin a version and bring your own model keys on Windows the same way you would anywhere else, and your code stays on the machine either way. For Windows-first developers who do not want to live inside WSL, that parity is the point. ## FAQ ### Does Atlas run natively on Windows? Yes. Atlas runs directly on Windows with a PowerShell installer, with no WSL or Linux subsystem required. ### Do I need WSL to use Atlas on Windows? No. Atlas targets Windows as a first-class platform and runs in your Windows terminal against your Windows repositories directly. ### How does Atlas handle Windows paths and shells? Atlas branches on the platform: it uses the Windows shell, normalizes Windows paths, applies Windows git settings, and uses Windows-aware file locking and retry. ### Are Windows features the same as macOS and Linux? Yes. The same single binary runs everywhere, so worktrees, concurrent sessions, and permission-gated edits behave the same on Windows. --- Canonical HTML: https://runatlas.sh/resources/features/windows-native-ai-coding-agent Source of truth: aeo_pages row `/resources/features/windows-native-ai-coding-agent` (segment: Platform) (this file is generated from it, never hand-edited). Licence: Atlas is proprietary with a free core. It is not open source and there is no public source repository.