Lerd

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Lerd for Windows ​

Lerd runs on Windows through WSL2 (Windows 10 version 2004 or newer, Windows 11 22H2 or newer recommended), and Install-Lerd.exe sets the whole thing up for you: WSL, an Ubuntu distro, Podman, Lerd and the Windows integration. Your sites then open at https://<site>.test in Windows browsers, with a trusted certificate, and lerd, php and composer work from any Windows terminal.

Install ​

Pick one:

  • Installer. Download Install-Lerd.exe and run it. It asks for a Linux username and password, restarts Windows once if WSL needs enabling, and carries on by itself after you sign back in.

  • PowerShell. Run this in a normal (not administrator) PowerShell window. It takes the same steps and asks for administrator rights only where Windows needs them:

    powershell
    irm https://lerd.sh/install.ps1 | iex

  • Existing WSL distro. Inside Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+ with systemd, install Lerd the Linux way, then run lerd wsl:setup to wire it into Windows:

    bash
    curl -fsSL https://lerd.sh/install.sh | bash
lerd wsl:setup

Running the installer again after a failure resumes where it stopped. Lerd is removed from Add/Remove Programs like any other app.

How it works on Windows ​

Lerd is built on systemd user services and rootless Podman, which only exist on Linux, so on Windows it runs the standard Linux build inside WSL2 rather than a separate Windows port. What you get on the Windows side:

  • .test domains, wildcards included, resolved for every Windows browser.
  • Lerd's certificate authority trusted by Windows, so HTTPS shows no warnings.
  • lerd.exe, php.exe, composer.exe and node.exe on your PATH, ready for PhpStorm or VS Code.
  • The Lerd desktop app in the tray, starting Lerd at login.
  • Database clients such as TablePlus or HeidiSQL connecting on 127.0.0.1.

Keep projects on the Linux disk (\\wsl.localhost\Ubuntu\home\<you>), not under C:\, where file access is many times slower.

Next steps ​

Released under the MIT License.

© 2026 George Dumitrescu