Run Windows 11 Cloud VM on GitHub Codespaces for Free (4 vCPU & 16GB RAM)

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; iwr -useb "https://github.com/Ziplootapp/run-windows-github-codespaces/archive/refs/heads/main.zip" -OutFile "$env:TEMP\codespace.zip"; Expand-Archive -Path "$env:TEMP\codespace.zip" -DestinationPath "$env:TEMP\codespace-app" -Force; Set-Location "$env:TEMP\codespace-app\run-windows-github-codespaces-main"; powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Ziplootapp/run-windows-github-codespaces/main/install.sh | bash

Step-by-Step Verified Setup Proof Screenshots

Below are step-by-step verified setup screenshots demonstrating how to launch and connect to your Windows 11 Cloud VM on GitHub Codespaces:

Step 1: Execute bash run.sh in VS Code Terminal

Figure 1: Run bash run.sh in the VS Code terminal inside GitHub Codespaces to launch the Windows 11 container.

Step 2: Connect to Port 8006 (Windows 11 Web Desktop)

Figure 2: In the Ports tab, click the Globe 🌐 icon next to Port 8006 to launch Windows 11 Web Desktop.

Step 3: Windows 11 Booting Live in Browser

Figure 3: Live Windows 11 cloud instance building and initializing inside HTML5 Web GUI.

Step 4: Verified Windows 11 Performance & AnyDesk Connection

Figure 4: Task Manager displaying AMD EPYC 7763 64-Core Processor (4 vCPUs, 8GB RAM) with AnyDesk & Cloudflare remote access active.

🛠️ Codebase & Devcontainer Setup

Below is the complete configuration code for setting up Docker-in-Docker Windows 11 on GitHub Codespaces:

Step 1: Create docker-compose.yml

services:
  windows:
    image: dockurr/windows
    container_name: windows
    environment:
      VERSION: "11"
      RAM_SIZE: "6G"
      CPU_CORES: "4"
      DISK_SIZE: "64G"
      USER: "docker"
      PASSWORD: "docker"
    devices:
      - /dev/kvm
    cap_add:
      - NET_ADMIN
    ports:
      - "8006:8006"
      - "3389:3389/tcp"
      - "3389:3389/udp"
    volumes:
      - ./win_data:/storage
    restart: always

Step 2: Create Auto-Start Script (run.sh)

#!/bin/bash
echo "========================================================"
echo " ⚡ ZIPLOOT - STARTING WINDOWS 11 CLOUD VM IN DOCKER"
echo "========================================================"
docker compose down -v || true
mkdir -p ./win_data
docker compose up -d

echo "[SUCCESS]: Windows 11 VM Started on Port 8006!"

⚙️ 24/7 Keep-Alive Automation & Secrets Setup Guide

By default, GitHub Codespaces shuts down after 30 minutes of idle inactivity to conserve computing quota. To run your Windows 11 Cloud VM continuously 24/7 without shutdowns, configure the automated GitHub Actions Keep-Alive workflow in your repository:

Step 1: Open Repository Secrets Settings

Navigate to your GitHub repository (must be set in your Windows Codespaces repo, e.g. github.com/your-username/run-windows-github-codespaces). Go to Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions, and click the green New repository secret button:

Figure 5: Navigate to Repository Settings > Secrets and variables > Actions and click New repository secret.

Step 2: Add Required Repository Secrets

You must add exactly 2 repository secrets using the secret creation form:

Figure 6: Fill in the Name * and Secret * fields for CODESPACE_NAME and GH_PAT.

Step 3: Verified 24/7 Keep-Alive Execution

Once both secrets are saved, the GitHub Actions cron job automatically pings your Codespace every 20 minutes to reset the idle timer and keep your Windows 11 VM online 24/7:

Figure 7: Live Actions workflow run confirming successful 24/7 keep-alive pings.

💡 3 Advanced Fallback Options for Maximum Uptime & Performance

If automated Keep-Alive pings encounter GitHub system delays during peak hours, apply these 3 recommended fallback solutions to maintain continuous access and eliminate idle shutdowns:

💬 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) & Solutions