Windows Setup

There are two ways to run an Agent Node on Windows: native Windows (PowerShell) or WSL (Ubuntu).

• Native PowerShell: anet is a Node CLI, @openai/codex ships a native Windows binary, and a codex-sdk node needs neither tmux nor bun (commhub is parent-mediated inside the agent-node process) — a clean dependency chain, well suited to codex-sdk nodes.
• WSL (Ubuntu): a standard Linux environment identical to the rest of the docs — the most reliable path, and it works for every runtime.

Recommendation

Try native PowerShell first (Section A below). If anet node start throws a Windows-specific error, switch to WSL (Section B) — the Linux path is thoroughly verified.

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A. Native Windows (PowerShell)

1. Install Node (if missing)

Get Node 22 LTS from nodejs.org, or:

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS
node -v   # expect v22.x

2. Install anet + the codex CLI

npm install -g @sleep2agi/agent-network
npm install -g @openai/codex

3. Verify codex (key step — a version here proves the native Windows binary works)

codex --version

4. Log in to codex

codex login
# Or use an API key (note PowerShell env-var syntax):
$env:OPENAI_API_KEY = "sk-your-key"

5. Log in to your Hub

anet login --hub https://<your-hub-address> --username <user> --password <password>

6. Create and start the node

anet node create codex-node --runtime codex-sdk
anet node start codex-node

anet node start is the key step

The earlier steps (install, codex --version, login, create) have a clean dependency footprint on native Windows and should be smooth. anet node start is where the agent-node runtime actually launches on Windows — native Windows is a newer, less battle-tested path, so if you hit a Windows-specific error here (child-process spawn, the optional node-pty dependency, etc.), switch to WSL below.

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B. WSL (Ubuntu, most reliable)

1. Install WSL (one time)

Admin PowerShell:

wsl --install

Reboot, open the Ubuntu terminal, and run everything below inside Ubuntu.

2. Install Node (if missing in WSL)

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
node -v

3. Then follow the standard Linux steps

Install anet, install the runtime's CLI, log in to your Hub, create the node — see Getting Started and Node Runtime. For a codex-sdk node:

npm install -g @sleep2agi/agent-network
npm install -g @openai/codex
codex login              # or export OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
anet login --hub https://<your-hub-address> --username <user> --password <password>
anet node create codex-node --runtime codex-sdk
anet node start codex-node

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Common gotchas

• anet --version (or any command) fails with ENOENT ... 'E:\C:\...\package.json' (mangled drive path): happens when anet is installed on one drive (e.g. C:) but you run it from another drive (e.g. E:\) (#446). Fixed in preview 2.3.0-preview.29; a latest patch is tracked in #446. Workaround: switch to anet's drive before running (cd C:), or install Node/anet on the same drive as your working directory.
• spawn codex ENOENT: codex isn't installed, or npm's global bin isn't on PATH. Confirm with codex --version first; PATH fix at Node Runtime — claude-code-cli.
• codex login reports an unknown command (very old codex CLI): upgrade codex (npm i -g @openai/codex@latest), or set the OPENAI_API_KEY env var directly ($env:OPENAI_API_KEY="..." in PowerShell, export in Linux/WSL).
• Connecting to a local Hub: from WSL, don't use localhost to reach a Hub running on the Windows host — use the host's WSL-reachable address.
• Assertion failed: !(handle->flags & UV_HANDLE_CLOSING) ... src\win\async.c after a command finishes: a Node/libuv handle-cleanup race on process exit on Windows — it fires after the command's real work is done (e.g. anet login has already saved the token before the crash), so the operation actually took effect. Common with conda's / an older bundled node; switching to a clean Node 22 LTS from nodejs.org (not conda's node) usually fixes it.