---
title: "How to run Muse Code on Windows without WSL"
url: https://helicon.sh/guides/muse-code-windows-without-wsl
description: "Muse Code runs natively on Windows. Here is how to check which route you are on, run it with Windows paths and PowerShell, and keep WSL2 as a fallback."
updated: 2026-09-19
site: Helicon
---

# Run Muse Code on Windows without WSL

Muse Code runs natively on Windows, so WSL2 is optional. Install the CLI on Windows, run muse login in PowerShell, and Helicon drives it directly with your own Windows paths and PowerShell for shell commands. If only a WSL2 install is present, Helicon routes there instead and translates paths both ways.

## Check which route you are on

Open PowerShell and ask the CLI directly. If it answers there, you have a native install and WSL2 is not involved.

```powershell
muse --version
```

If that fails but the same command answers inside your WSL2 shell, your install lives in the distribution and Helicon will route through it.

## What native gives you

- Your own Windows paths, with no /mnt/c translation anywhere in the loop.
- PowerShell for shell commands, so your profile, aliases and tooling apply.
- No distribution to keep updated alongside Windows.
- Fewer moving parts when something goes wrong.

## When to keep WSL2 anyway

- Your project lives inside the distribution and your toolchain is Linux.
- You depend on Linux only build steps the agent has to run.
- You set Muse Code up before native Windows support and it works.

> Helicon prefers native Muse Code when it finds it and falls back to WSL2 otherwise. You do not have to pick in the UI.

## Run Muse Code natively on Windows

1. **Install the muse CLI on Windows** Use the Windows install path rather than installing inside a distribution.
2. **Confirm PowerShell can see it** A version answer here means you are native.
   ```sh
   muse --version
   ```
3. **Sign in** Authentication stays with the CLI.
   ```sh
   muse login
   ```
4. **Install Helicon** Run the signed Windows installer from the latest GitHub release.
5. **Add your project** Point Helicon at the Windows path you actually work in.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is WSL2 still supported?

Yes. Helicon uses Muse Code inside WSL2 when native Muse Code is not installed, and translates paths in both directions.

### Can I have both installs?

You can, and Helicon will prefer the native one. Keeping both is a reasonable way to migrate gradually.

### Which shell runs the agent's commands?

PowerShell on the native route, and the distribution's shell on the WSL2 route.

## Related

- [Windows](https://helicon.sh/install/windows): A signed Windows installer for a Muse Code desktop app, with auto update. Runs Muse Code natively on Windows, or inside WSL2 with path translation both ways.
- [WSL2](https://helicon.sh/install/wsl2): If your muse CLI lives in WSL2 Ubuntu, Helicon routes to it from the Windows desktop app and translates paths both ways, so the agent and the UI agree on where files are.
- [Windows developers](https://helicon.sh/use-cases/windows-developers): A signed installer, native Windows Muse Code with PowerShell, and WSL2 path translation when you need it. The Windows setup tax, paid once by the app instead of by you.

---

Helicon is a free, MIT licensed, unofficial community client for Meta's Muse Code CLI. Not made, sponsored or endorsed by Meta. Source: https://helicon.sh/. Machine readable index: https://helicon.sh/llms.txt