Windows Node Installation Guide (Headless & GUI)

You can turn any Windows 10/11 machine into a powerful, background scraping node for BrowserMesh. The installation process is completely automated via PowerShell.

Automated Setup Options

Option 1: One-Line PowerShell Command

Open PowerShell and execute:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "iwr -useb https://browsermesh-one.vercel.app/scripts/install-headless.ps1 | iex"

Option 2: One-Line CMD Command

Run in Windows Command Prompt (CMD):

curl -sL https://browsermesh-one.vercel.app/scripts/install-headless.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd

Option 3: Double-Click Batch File Installer

1. Download install-headless.cmd.
2. Double-click install-headless.cmd in Windows File Explorer.
3. The command window will execute the background setup and remain open so you can confirm installation success.

What the Script Does

Behind the scenes, the script performs a secure, 5-step automated setup:

1. Validates Node.js: Ensures Node.js engine (v18/v20+) is installed.
2. Installs PM2: Sets up pm2 globally to manage the background daemon.
3. Downloads the Backend: Fetches backend-latest.tar.gz and extracts it to your User Home directory: %USERPROFILE%\browsermesh-node (e.g. C:\Users\<YourUsername>\browsermesh-node).
4. Configures Environment: Generates an optimized .env file pointing to the production Cloud API.
5. Installs Stealth Browser & Starts Service: Downloads anti-bot stealth binaries (npx cloakbrowser install) and launches the background daemon.

Managing Your Node

The installation script configures a universal command shortcut called mesh inside your system PATH (%APPDATA%\npm).

You can run mesh commands directly from any terminal window (Command Prompt CMD, PowerShell, or Git Bash):

• mesh status : Check process status, memory, and CPU usage of the daemon.
• mesh logs : View live tail of scraping activity logs.
• mesh restart: Reboot the background scraping node.
• mesh stop : Pause the background node daemon.
• mesh start : Resume the node daemon.

Once running, return to your Cloud Dashboard. Your Windows machine will instantly appear under the Active Devices tab.