Install and first run: from a verified MSI to the first Owner session
You install VaultPilot on Windows Server from an MSI package. Users reach it in the browser through the server's HTTPS address. The first profile you create becomes the Owner account, and that account finishes the remaining setup.
- Server platform
- Windows Server
- Delivery
- Verified MSI from the official release
- First access
- HTTPS address in the browser
- Vault unlock
- Web Crypto in the browser
Prepare the server and the installer
Before you run the MSI, verify the allowed release host, the exact filename, the Ed25519-signed manifest, the SHA-256 hash, and the file size. The v3.0.3 package is an unsigned MSI, so do not expect signer details for this release.
Install, then open the address twice
Run the MSI as Administrator. It sets up the Windows service, the firewall rule, and the data and log directories. Open the address on the server itself first, then from an approved workstation. A self-signed certificate warning is expected until you install a trusted certificate; a connection that never opens is not.
Create the first Owner profile
The Owner account manages users, the license, security, and system settings. The browser needs Web Crypto to create the profile and unlock the vault. Create it over HTTPS; the server's local address is only for checking the server itself.
Signs that should stop the setup
If you see any of these, do not move on to the next step. Open the matching knowledge base article and collect only redacted command output.
Limits to know
- A finished installer dialog tells you nothing about DNS, the firewall, certificate trust, sign-in, or backups.
- The managed self-signed certificate is for first access; broad use needs a trusted PFX/P12 package.
- Users always open the HTTPS address; plain HTTP is not a path for users.
- Never remove the last Owner account, even while you work through a license problem.
Check step by step
- 01
Download the MSI and manifest from the official release and verify them.
- 02
Run the MSI as Administrator and confirm the service is running.
- 03
Open the address on the server, then from an approved workstation.
- 04
Create the Owner profile, apply the license, and turn on two-step verification.
- 05
Export the first encrypted backup and confirm it imports into a clean validation profile.
Read more in the guides: Windows Server installation, First-run Owner and license, Admin quickstart