Installing Wazuh agents on Windows endpoints

The agent runs on the endpoint you want to monitor and communicates with the Wazuh server, sending data in near real-time through an encrypted and authenticated channel. Monitor your Windows systems with Wazuh, from Windows XP to the latest available versions including Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022.

Note

To perform the installation, administrator privileges are required.

  1. To start the installation process, download the Windows installer.

  2. Select the installation method you want to follow: command line interface (CLI) or graphical user interface (GUI).

    To deploy the Wazuh agent on your endpoint, choose one of the command shell alternatives and edit the WAZUH_MANAGER variable so that it contains the Wazuh manager IP address or hostname.

    • Using CMD:

      wazuh-agent-4.5.4-1.msi /q WAZUH_MANAGER="10.0.0.2"
      
    • Using PowerShell:

      .\wazuh-agent-4.5.4-1.msi /q WAZUH_MANAGER="10.0.0.2"
      

    For additional deployment options such as agent name, agent group, and registration password, see the Deployment variables for Windows section.

    The installation process is now complete, and the Wazuh agent is successfully installed and configured. You can start the Wazuh agent from the GUI or by running:

    NET START Wazuh
    

    Once started, the Wazuh agent will start the enrollment process and register with the manager.

    Note

    Alternatively, if you want to install an agent without registering it, omit the deployment variables. To learn more about the different registration methods, see the Wazuh agent enrollment section.

By default, all agent files are stored in C:\Program Files (x86)\ossec-agent after the installation.

Uninstall a Wazuh agent

To uninstall the agent, the original Windows installer file is required to perform the unattended process:

msiexec.exe /x wazuh-agent-4.5.4-1.msi /qn

The Wazuh agent is now completely removed from your Windows endpoint.