Agent Setup on Windows

Prerequisites

check_circleWindows 10 / 11 or Windows Server (64-bit, x64)
check_circleOutbound HTTPS (port 443) must be allowed (no inbound port openings or VPN required)
check_circleA WireCanal account and a canal (created on the dashboard)

Create a canal and download wirecanal.json

Create a canal on the dashboard, then download the connection file wirecanal.json from the "Setup" tab of the canal details (for step-by-step instructions with screenshots, see ① Create a canal). This file contains the connection key for that canal.

Install the Agent

Open PowerShell in the folder where you want to place the Agent (e.g. C:\wirecanal) and run this one line. wirecanal.exe is placed in that folder, and the install is verified automatically, ending with the version display.

irm https://download.wirecanal.com/install.ps1 | iex

Start it

Place the downloaded wirecanal.json in the same folder as wirecanal.exe, then start it.

.\wirecanal.exe -config wirecanal.json

When the startup log shows a line like "canal <ID>: delivering access to https://<hostname> to local forwarding target <target>", the tunnel is open. The canal details on the dashboard also switch to "Connected!".

Keep it running (register as a Windows service)

The startup method above stops when you close the terminal or log off. To keep it running as a server, register it as a Windows service (Agent v0.16.0 or later). Run this once from the Agent's folder in a PowerShell opened as Administrator.

.\wirecanal.exe service install -config wirecanal.json

check_circleStarts automatically at PC boot with no logon required. If it stops, it restarts automatically after about 5 seconds.
check_circleCheck the status with .\wirecanal.exe service status; stop and start with service stop / service start.
check_circleTo remove it, run .\wirecanal.exe service uninstall (stops the service and removes the registration).
check_circleOperation logs are written to .wirecanal-state\wirecanal-service.log in the same folder as wirecanal.json.

Notes

scheduleRunning via Task Scheduler? Watch out for the default "3 days" setting

If you have been keeping wirecanal.exe running by registering it directly in Task Scheduler, the task's default setting "Stop the task if it runs longer than: 3 days" terminates the Agent 72 hours after startup, and it does not come back until the next start trigger. We recommend switching to the service registration above (no run-time limit, and automatic restart in about 5 seconds if it stops). If you keep using Task Scheduler, be sure to change this setting to "none" in the task's properties.

updateAuto-update is enabled from the start

The Agent replaces itself automatically when a new version is released (updates are applied only after signature verification, and if an update fails it automatically rolls back to the previous version). Only if you want to disable it, add "auto_update": false to wirecanal.json.

lanOn corporate networks that require a proxy

Just add one line to wirecanal.json, such as "proxy_url": "http://proxy.example.co.jp:8080", and outbound connections go through that proxy (environment-variable proxy settings are not consulted — only the configured value is used, for predictable behavior).

To switch the display language to Japanese, add "lang": "ja" to wirecanal.json (the default startup messages follow this setting; "lang": "en" selects English). If the connection does not come up, start with -verbose for detailed logs. You can revoke and reissue connection keys anytime from the dashboard. All options including these (multiple canals, timeouts, operation records, and more) are covered in the wirecanal.json configuration reference.

Create a canal for free Back to the setup guide

Agent setup on Windows