Install on Windows

Windows 10, 11 or Windows Server 2019+ (x64). Installation with a single PowerShell line.

Install

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator

Right-click the PowerShell icon → Run as administrator. The script refuses to run otherwise, and tells you so.

2. Paste the install command

A single line, to paste as-is into the window you just opened:

iwr https://uversion.io/downloads/server/install.ps1 -UseBasicParsing | iex

The script then runs, before your eyes:

• the prompt for the activation code, the only question asked: see the next step
• the download of the binary and the verification of the archive
• the installation of PostgreSQL via winget if it is missing (about 2 minutes)
• the creation of the database, the role and the Windows service, and the opening of the firewall (8443, plus 8080 as a fallback)
• the registration of the Programs and Features entry
• the start of the service, the generation of the self-signed TLS certificate, then the display of the administrator password and the certificate's SHA-256 fingerprint

Everything happens in your PowerShell window, you see every step. It is the Windows equivalent of Linux's sudo apt install.

3. Enter the activation code

This is the only question asked: every other choice goes through parameters, described below. The field accepts three forms: the short code UV-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX, a path to a file containing your full licence key, or that key pasted directly. With the first form only, the script contacts licence.uversion.io to exchange the code for the key.

4. Note the closing summary

The installation ends on a box: admin username, temporary password, server address and certificate fingerprint. Note them down.

If the window was closed too quickly, the password is still on disk as long as it has not been changed:

Get-Content "C:\ProgramData\uVersion\initial-admin-password"

This file disappears as soon as you change the password: a "Cannot find path" error therefore means the change has already happened.

You can then follow First login.

Windows Server 2019 and 2022: PostgreSQL first

Non-interactive variant (CI, scripted deployment)

& ([scriptblock]::Create((iwr https://uversion.io/downloads/server/install.ps1 -UseBasicParsing).Content)) `
    -LicenceKey "UV-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX" -DataDir "D:\uVersion" -DbOnDataDir

The nine accepted parameters:

Where the files go

Everything lives in the data folder, C:\ProgramData\uVersion by default: the configuration (config.toml), the content of your versioned files (data\chunks), the TLS certificate and its fingerprint (data\tls), and the initial administrator password.

After any manual change to config.toml, restart the service so that it is applied:

Restart-Service uVersionServer

Verify the installation

Four independent checks. Replace C:\ProgramData\uVersion with your data folder if you chose a different one.

1. The service is running

Get-Service uVersionServer

Expected: Status: Running.

2. The server listens on HTTPS on 8443

Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 8443 -State Listen

One line should appear. Nothing at all while the service is running usually means that TLS was disabled in the configuration: the server then switches to plain HTTP and 8443 no longer listens.

3. Show the certificate fingerprint again

Get-Content "C:\ProgramData\uVersion\data\tls\fingerprint"

This is the fingerprint that each workstation confirms on its first connection.

4. Re-read the active configuration

Get-Content "C:\ProgramData\uVersion\config.toml"

If the service refuses to start, the most direct way to see why is to launch the binary in the foreground: the startup errors then appear directly in your window. It is in fact the command that the install script itself suggests when it detects the failure.

$env:CONFIG_PATH = 'C:\ProgramData\uVersion\config'
& 'C:\Program Files\uVersion\uversion-server.exe'

Then stop with Ctrl+C, then Start-Service uVersionServer. If the service does not even start far enough to produce an error, the Windows Event Viewer (eventvwr.msc) records it in the System log, source Service Control Manager. Do not look there for an application log named uVersion: the server writes to its standard output, it does not register a Windows event source, so a command such as Get-EventLog -Source uVersionServer will never return anything.

Uninstall

Two equivalent ways. Both run the same script (uninstall.ps1), which handles the service, the firewall, the machine environment variable, the data folder, the binary, the Programs and Features entry, and the PostgreSQL database.

Method 1: via Programs and Features

1. Win+R → appwiz.cpl → Enter
2. Find uVersion Server in the list
3. Right-click → Uninstall
4. An administrator PowerShell window opens and runs the script visibly

Method 2: via PowerShell as Administrator

iwr https://uversion.io/downloads/server/uninstall.ps1 -UseBasicParsing | iex

The script shows your two paths at startup, then a verification block at the end: you should see "OK absent" in green for the service, the installation folder, the data folder and the Programs and Features entry.

$body = (iwr "https://uversion.io/downloads/server/uninstall.ps1" -UseBasicParsing).Content
if ($body -is [byte[]]) { $body = [Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($body) }
& ([scriptblock]::Create($body)) -InstallDir "D:\uVersion\bin" -DataDir "D:\uVersion"

Also uninstall PostgreSQL?

By default, uninstall.ps1 does not touch PostgreSQL: other applications may use it. To remove it as well:

$body = (iwr "https://uversion.io/downloads/server/uninstall.ps1" -UseBasicParsing).Content
if ($body -is [byte[]]) { $body = [Text.Encoding]::UTF8.GetString($body) }
& ([scriptblock]::Create($body)) -RemovePostgreSQL

The [byte[]] test is necessary: depending on the type of content served, Invoke-WebRequest -UseBasicParsing can return the body of the response as a byte array or as a string. The pattern above works in both cases.