---
title: "Muse Code for Windows: install the desktop app"
url: https://helicon.sh/install/windows
description: "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."
updated: 2026-09-19
site: Helicon
---

# Install Helicon on Windows

Install the muse CLI, sign in with muse login, then run the signed Helicon installer from the latest GitHub release. Helicon drives Muse Code natively on Windows using your own Windows paths and PowerShell for shell commands, and falls back to Muse Code inside WSL2 with two way path translation when native Muse Code is not present.

## Before you start

- Windows 10 or 11 on x64.
- The muse CLI, either natively on Windows or inside WSL2 Ubuntu.
- A Muse Code subscription, signed in with your own `muse login`.
- Nothing else. The desktop app ships its own Node.js runtime.

## Two supported setups

| Setup | How Helicon runs it | Paths |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Native Windows Muse Code | Runs `muse` directly, PowerShell for shell commands | Your own Windows paths, unchanged |
| Muse Code inside WSL2 | Routes through the WSL2 distribution | Translated both ways automatically |

_Helicon prefers native Muse Code and uses WSL2 when native is not installed._

This is the part that usually costs Windows users an evening. Mixed Windows and WSL2 paths are the reason agent tooling breaks on Windows, and Helicon translates between them rather than asking you to.

## About the installer

- Signed, so SmartScreen does not treat it as an unknown publisher.
- Auto update built in: the app checks helicon.sh for a newer version and updates itself.
- The file is named Helicon_<version>_x64-setup.exe on the release page.

> The update check is the only request Helicon makes on its own behalf. It reports the platform, the version and a weekly hash of the IP it came from. No code, prompts, threads or files leave the machine, and there is no account.

## If Helicon cannot find Muse Code

- Check `muse --version` in PowerShell for a native install.
- Check `muse --version` inside your WSL2 shell for the WSL2 route.
- Run `muse login` in whichever shell holds your install. Helicon never stores credentials, so it needs the CLI to be signed in.

## Install Helicon, a Muse Code desktop app, on Windows

1. **Install the muse CLI** Install Muse Code natively on Windows, or inside WSL2 Ubuntu if that is your setup.
2. **Sign in** Authenticate the CLI in the shell that holds your install. Helicon uses this login and stores no credentials of its own.
   ```sh
   muse login
   ```
3. **Download the installer** Take Helicon_<version>_x64-setup.exe from the latest GitHub release.
4. **Run the installer** The installer is signed and sets up auto update, so future versions arrive without another download.
5. **Add a project** Point Helicon at a working directory. It starts a muse serve host for that workspace and lists any sessions already on disk, including ones started in the terminal.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I need WSL2 to run Muse Code on Windows?

No. Muse Code runs natively on Windows and Helicon drives it directly, using your Windows paths and PowerShell for shell commands. WSL2 still works, and Helicon uses it when native Muse Code is not installed.

### Is the Windows installer signed?

Yes, and it ships auto update. Releases are published on GitHub.

### Does Helicon work on Windows on ARM?

The published installer is x64. ARM users can run from source, which needs Node 22 or newer on the Windows host.

### Where do my Muse Code credentials live on Windows?

With the muse CLI, from your own muse login, in whichever environment you installed it. Helicon never stores or handles them.

## Related

- [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.
- [Muse Code on Windows without WSL](https://helicon.sh/guides/muse-code-windows-without-wsl): 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.
- [The muse terminal](https://helicon.sh/compare/muse-code-terminal): How a Muse Code GUI differs from the muse CLI terminal interface: session history, inline diffs, approvals and cost, side by side with what the TUI already does well.
- [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