> ## Documentation index
> Fetch the complete index at: https://maritime.sh/llms.txt
> Setup procedure for AI agents (install, sign in, deploy, verify): https://maritime.sh/agents.md
> This page as HTML: https://maritime.sh/docs/windows-desktops

# Windows desktops

Computers on demand

A Maritime Windows desktop is a computer for software that only runs on Windows. It is a
[computer](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers) with `os: "windows"`: the same actions, batch, file, viewer and
takeover contract as a Linux computer, so your model code does not change.

## At a glance

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **What it is** | The same computer on Windows Server 2022 (desktop experience), licence included: the same actions, files, viewer and takeover. `exec` runs PowerShell. |
| **Use it for** | Desktop software that only runs on Windows. |
| **Use something else when** | A browser or a Linux app: [Linux desktop](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers). A mobile app: [Android phone](https://maritime.sh/docs/phones). |
| **Start it** | `POST /api/v1/computers` with `"os": "windows"`, `maritime computers create --os windows`, or New sandbox (`?type=windows`). Needs the Growth plan or above, once paid. |
| **Lifecycle** | Creating one takes a few minutes. It sleeps after 5 idle minutes and hibernates, so its memory is kept; waking takes about 60 to 90 seconds. Its disk is kept until you delete it. |
| **Price** | $0.18 an hour awake, per second, Windows licence included. Asleep: $0.08 per GB-month of disk. |
| **Limits** | The Linux desktop limits. Without a paid Growth plan or above, creating one returns 403 `os_not_enabled`; with no Windows host, 403 `machine_unavailable`. |
| **Related** | [Linux desktops](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers), [Images](https://maritime.sh/docs/images), [Add-ons](https://maritime.sh/docs/add-ons). |

> Windows desktops come with the Growth plan and above, once the plan is paid (a free trial, Starter, or a
> plan on a free-month code is not enough). Without that, creating one returns 403 `os_not_enabled`. Where a
> deployment has no Windows hosts, it returns 403 `machine_unavailable`.

## When to use it

- Desktop apps with no web version and no API.
- Workflows your customers run on Windows, where the agent has to see the same screens.

If the software runs on Linux or in a browser, a Linux [computer](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers) is the
simpler choice.

## Create one

From the dashboard, open [New sandbox](https://maritime.sh/dashboard/new-sandbox?type=windows)
(`/dashboard/new-sandbox?type=windows`), name the desktop and click **Create Windows desktop**.

Pass `os` when the computer is created. An existing computer keeps its own operating system, so the same
`externalUserId` always returns the same desktop.

**REST**

```bash
curl -X POST https://api.maritime.sh/api/v1/computers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MARITIME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"externalUserId": "u_123", "os": "windows"}'
```

**CLI**

```bash
maritime computers create --os windows
```

**MCP**

```json
// the model calls get_computer once per end user
{"name": "get_computer", "arguments": {"user_id": "u_123", "os": "windows"}}
```

Then drive it exactly as in
[Computers: the computer action](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers#the-computer-action): screenshot, act,
verify.

## How it differs from a Linux computer

- It runs under QEMU/KVM, not Firecracker. Screen and input come from the virtual machine, not from software
  inside Windows.
- `run_shell` (REST: `exec`) runs PowerShell.
- The file API keeps the same paths: `/data` is `C:\data` and `/home/desk` is `C:\Users\agent`.

## Lifetime and limits

- It runs Windows Server 2022 (desktop experience), licence included. Creating one takes a few minutes. It sleeps after 5 idle minutes and hibernates, so its memory is kept, and waking takes about 60 to 90 seconds.
- Its disk is kept until you delete the computer. Deleting it deletes the disk.
- It is billed at $0.18 an hour while awake and $0.08 per GB-month of disk while asleep, and it counts toward your
  awake-at-once limit while it is awake, like any computer. It needs the Growth plan ($100 a month) or above,
  once the plan is paid; the free trial and Starter can't create one.
- Rate limits, file sizes and errors are the same as for Linux computers.

Full numbers: [Computers: limits](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers#limits) and
[errors](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers#errors).

## Related

- [Linux desktops](https://maritime.sh/docs/computers)
- [Android phones](https://maritime.sh/docs/phones)
- [Images](https://maritime.sh/docs/images)
- [Networks](https://maritime.sh/docs/networks)