Installing Osaurus for Windows
Osaurus for Windows is a free app from the Microsoft Store. It's in public beta, and it needs Windows 11. Install it like any Store app; it updates itself after that.
Get started
- Open the Store page with the button above, or search for Osaurus Beta in the Microsoft Store app.
- Click Get (or Install). The download is about 130 MB.
- Open Osaurus from the Start menu. A short setup walks you through your first assistant. See Quick Start.
You don't need to install anything else first: everything Osaurus needs comes in the package.
Install with winget
If you'd rather use a terminal, Osaurus can be installed with winget, Windows's package manager:
winget install 9P2W5T5WTTZ1 -s msstore --accept-package-agreements
--accept-package-agreements lets it run without pausing to ask you to agree to the Store license. The install is the same as one from the Store app, and the Store keeps it up to date.
System requirements
- Windows 11, on an x64 or ARM64 PC
- 2–20 GB of free space for each local model you download
- A graphics card is optional. Local models run fastest on a graphics card with plenty of its own memory (VRAM): about 12 GB lets Osaurus set one up for you during setup. Smaller cards and processors without one still run smaller models, just more slowly. Cloud models need only an internet connection.
A few features need more:
| Feature | Needs |
|---|---|
| Sandbox on Linux | WSL 3.0.1 or newer (wsl --update) and the Virtual Machine Platform Windows feature |
| Sandbox with the Windows (no setup) engine | Windows 11 24H2 or later, with the August 2026 update |
| Containing agents' commands to the folder you attach | Windows 11 24H2 or later, with the August 2026 update |
Updates
The Microsoft Store updates Osaurus automatically. After an update, the next launch shows what's new. To see your version, open Settings (bottom of the agent sidebar) → Providers: it's at the bottom of the page, next to What's new.
Start at sign-in
Osaurus can start when you sign in to Windows, waiting in the system tray so its server is ready for other apps. Turn on Settings → Behavior → Start at login. It's off by default, and Windows also lists it under Settings → Apps → Startup.
Closing the Osaurus window doesn't quit it: it keeps running in the tray. To quit, right-click the tray icon and choose Quit Osaurus.
Uninstall
- Quit Osaurus (right-click its tray icon → Quit Osaurus).
- Open Windows Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find Osaurus Beta, and choose Uninstall.
Uninstalling keeps your data: chats, keys, settings, and downloaded models stay on your PC, so reinstalling picks up where you left off. To remove them too, do one of these:
- Before uninstalling, open Settings → Data & privacy → Reset Osaurus…. It erases everything Osaurus keeps on this PC and quits. Leave Keep my Osaurus account checked if you want to keep your account and its credits.
- After uninstalling, delete the folder
%LOCALAPPDATA%\osaurus.
Both of these can't be undone. If you didn't keep your account, you need its recovery phrase to get it back on any PC. You can back it up in Settings → Account.
Under the hood
Where Osaurus puts things
Everything lives in one folder, %LOCALAPPDATA%\osaurus (usually C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\osaurus). The Open folder button in Settings → Data & privacy opens it.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Chats | conversations.db |
| Settings, agents, memory, keys | Encrypted databases in the data folder |
| Local models (GGUF) | models\; change it in Settings → Models → Local engine → Models folder |
| Local engine builds (llama.cpp) | engines\ |
| File history (undo for agents' file changes) | file-history\ |
| Logs | logs\ |
| Bundle imports | import\ |
The databases are encrypted with SQLCipher. Their key is a random 32-byte key protected with Windows DPAPI, so it opens only under your Windows account on this PC.
To run Osaurus against a different data folder (for testing), set the OSAURUS_DATA_DIR environment variable. The osaurus command takes --data-dir for the same purpose; see CLI on Windows.
Test the local server
Osaurus serves its API on http://127.0.0.1:1337 while it runs:
curl.exe http://127.0.0.1:1337/health
Use curl.exe, not curl, in Windows PowerShell: there curl is an alias for Invoke-WebRequest.