Installing Guardrail on Windows
Guardrail's Windows installer is code-signed, so you won't see a SmartScreen warning. There's exactly one prompt to get through, and no extra permissions to enable afterward.
Good news: nothing to configure after install
Unlike macOS and Android, Guardrail on Windows doesn't need any extra permission grants once setup finishes. If it installed successfully, it's already protecting you.
Download the installer
Get it from the download page. It downloads as a single signed .exe file, usually into your Downloads folder.
Open the downloaded file
Double-click the file you just downloaded. Some browsers show a small "keep file" confirmation in the download tray first — if you see that, click Keep before opening it.
Downloads folderLook for the Guardrail setup file and double-click itAllow the permission prompt
Windows will show a User Account Control prompt asking to let the app make changes to your device. This is normal for any installer that needs to run setup — click Yes to continue.
RequiredUser Account Control"Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" → click YesFollow the setup screen
Confirm the install location (the default is fine for almost everyone), check the box to accept the license agreement, and click Install now.
Wait for install to finish
Setup takes under a minute. When you see the success screen, click Start to explore now — Guardrail is already running and protecting you, no further setup required.
Common issues
Since there's no permission step to miss on Windows, most reported issues happen before or during the install itself.
Still stuck?
Email us and we'll walk you through it directly.
