Windows

craft runs natively on Windows (x64) and needs neither administrator rights nor Developer Mode. Projects keep the same node_modules layout and the same craft.lock as on macOS and Linux; a few things are done differently underneath.

Directory links are junctions

Windows only lets administrators, or users with Developer Mode on, create symbolic links. craft links directories with junctions instead, which any user can create and which Node.js follows like symlinks.

Junctions must point to absolute paths, so unlike on macOS and Linux, a project's node_modules stops working if you move the project directory. Run craft install again after moving it.

Bins are shims

Each bin in node_modules/.bin is three small files, the same ones npm writes:

File	Used by
tsc.cmd	cmd.exe, and tools that look commands up through PATHEXT
tsc.ps1	PowerShell
tsc	Git Bash and other sh shells

A shim runs the program named in the bin's shebang line (#!/usr/bin/env node runs node), preferring a node.exe next to it, and passes the exit code through. A bin without a shebang, such as an .exe, runs directly.

A bin whose shebang names a shell, #!/bin/sh, needs sh on PATH, as with npm: run it from Git Bash, or install Git for Windows with its tools on PATH.

Scripts run in cmd

craft run and lifecycle scripts run through cmd.exe /d /s /c, exactly as written in package.json. Write scripts that work in cmd: use node -e or a cross-platform tool instead of rm -rf, cp or $VAR.

Arguments you pass, as in craft run test --grep "a & b", are escaped the way npm escapes them, so characters that are special to cmd (& | < > ^ % ! ( ) and quotes) reach the script unchanged, including through a bin's .cmd shim.

Long paths

craft uses Windows' long-path APIs, so deep node_modules trees don't hit the 260-character MAX_PATH limit. Some other tools still do; if one fails on a long path, enable long paths in Windows (LongPathsEnabled).

Git dependencies

Git dependencies need git on PATH; Git for Windows provides it.