Download Rancher Desktop for Windows PC v1.24.0 for Windows PC

Rancher Desktop is SUSE's free, open-source way to run Kubernetes and containers on Windows: a local K3s cluster plus containerd or Docker runtimes in one...

Features

• Completely free and open source under Apache-2.0, with no paid tier, account requirement or company-size licensing restriction of any kind.
• You choose the runtime: containerd with nerdctl, or dockerd (Moby) so existing docker and docker compose commands and scripts keep working unchanged.
• A real local Kubernetes cluster (K3s) with switchable versions, plus bundled kubectl and Helm, takes a Windows PC from installer to working cluster in minutes.
• The preferences UI handles cluster resets, resource limits and networking in one place, including the privileged service for exposing services beyond localhost.
• It is a drop-in Docker Desktop replacement for most local development, so Compose files and Dockerfiles built for Docker generally run as they are.

Considerations

• It is a heavy install — a roughly 640 MB MSI plus a WSL2 virtual machine that realistically wants 8 GB of RAM allocated to feel comfortable.
• Only Linux containers are supported through WSL2; developers who need native Windows containers still need a separate Moby or Docker setup.
• WSL2 is no longer installed by the Rancher Desktop installer, so first-time users must install it separately with Microsoft's instructions before setup completes.

Rancher Desktop is what most Windows developers actually wanted from the container-on-desktop idea once Docker Desktop's licensing changed. From SUSE, under the Apache-2.0 licence, one MSI installer sets up everything you need: a lightweight virtual machine on WSL2 running a real Kubernetes cluster (K3s) alongside your choice of container runtime — containerd, driven with the nerdctl command line, or dockerd (Moby), which keeps the familiar docker and docker compose commands working unchanged. kubectl, Helm and other day-to-day tools are bundled, and switching Kubernetes versions, resetting just the cluster, and exposing services through the privileged service are all handled from one tidy preferences UI — a fresh Windows machine goes from installer to kubectl get pods in minutes.

Licensing is the headline difference. Rancher Desktop is completely free, open source and usable for personal and commercial work — no account, no subscription tier and no licence distinction between a hobbyist and a 500-person company. An extensions and images UI handles pulling, building and scanning-adjacent chores, and version 1.24.0 is the current release served from the project's official GitHub releases. As a local development tool it is best-known for a reason: it is the strongest free answer available for the common job of running containers and a dev Kubernetes cluster on Windows without a licence conversation.

Note the shape of it honestly. Rancher Desktop runs Linux containers on Windows via WSL2 — native Windows containers are not supported — and WSL2 itself must be installed separately before the installer will complete, which trips up first-time users following old guides. The costs are also real weight: the installer alone is about 640 MB, the VM wants real RAM (8 GB is a realistic working minimum), and first start must download the cluster images before anything runs. Teams standardised on Docker Desktop's exact extensions ecosystem may also find gaps here. It needs Windows 10 21H2 or 11, 8 GB of RAM and 6 GB of space. None of that changes the verdict for most developers, but plan the hardware and the first-run wait rather than being surprised by them.

Rancher Desktop's Windows installer no longer installs WSL2 for you, so follow Microsoft's instructions to install WSL2 first if it is not already present.

Run Rancher.Desktop.Setup.1.24.0.msi, accept the licence agreement, and choose whether to install for everyone (preferred, so the Rancher Desktop Privileged Service can expose services beyond 127.0.0.1) or just for you.

Launch Rancher Desktop, choose a Kubernetes version and your container runtime (containerd or dockerd), and wait while it downloads cluster images and starts Kubernetes on first run.

How do I install Rancher Desktop on Windows?

Install WSL2 first if it is not already present, because current Rancher Desktop installers no longer install it for you. Then run Rancher.Desktop.Setup.1.24.0.msi, launch the app, choose a Kubernetes version and container runtime, and wait while it starts the cluster on first run.

What is Rancher Desktop for?

Rancher Desktop gives Windows developers a local container and Kubernetes environment. It runs a lightweight WSL2 virtual machine with a real K3s cluster and your choice of container runtime — containerd with nerdctl, or dockerd (Moby) if you want the Docker CLI and Docker Compose.

Is Rancher Desktop free for commercial use?

Yes. Rancher Desktop is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence, with no subscription and no size-based licensing. That licensing model is the main reason many teams adopted it as a Docker Desktop alternative.

What is the difference between Rancher and Rancher Desktop?

Rancher Desktop is a single-machine Windows application for running containers and a local Kubernetes cluster while you develop. Rancher is SUSE's broader platform for managing Kubernetes clusters across machines and infrastructure. Despite the shared name and publisher, the desktop app is the local development tool, not the multi-cluster management platform.