Two things you can do on Windows, each one command: run a local Barkpark server (Phoenix API + Studio), or install the bp CLI to drive a server / the TUI.

1. Run a local Barkpark server (Phoenix API + Studio) — scripts\setup-windows.ps1
2. Install the bp CLI to drive a server / the TUI — a PowerShell one-liner

Everything below is PowerShell (5.1 or 7+). Tested end-to-end on Windows 11 with Erlang/OTP 28, Elixir 1.20, PostgreSQL 18.

1. Run a local server — one command

Prerequisites: 64-bit Windows 10/11, git, and a clone of this repo. That's it — the script installs the rest (no admin, no Visual Studio).

git clone https://github.com/FRIKKern/barkpark.git
cd barkpark
.\scripts\setup-windows.ps1

The script is idempotent and does the whole job:

• installs Scoop (user-scoped package manager) if missing
• installs Erlang/OTP + Elixir + PostgreSQL via Scoop
• pins that toolchain ahead of any stale system Erlang/Elixir on your PATH
• initializes + starts a local Postgres cluster (trust auth, postgres superuser)
• fetches deps, compiles, and creates + migrates + seeds the database
• starts Phoenix in its own window and waits until the API answers

When it finishes you get:

Create a paper

irm http://localhost:4000/v1/paperflow/papers -Method Post `
  -Headers @{Authorization='Bearer paperflow-dev-ingest-token'} `
  -ContentType 'application/json' `
  -Body '{"slug":"hello","style":"article","blocks":[{"type":"heading","level":1,"text":"Hello from Windows"},{"type":"paragraph","content":[{"type":"text","value":"Made on a native Windows dev server."}]}]}'

Then open http://localhost:4000/papers/hello. Note the block shapes: headings carry text, paragraphs carry content (inline nodes).

Daily use

.\scripts\setup-windows.ps1 start     # start Postgres + server (after first setup)
.\scripts\setup-windows.ps1 status    # toolchain + Postgres + API health
.\scripts\setup-windows.ps1 stop      # stop Postgres (close the server window to stop Phoenix)

Always start the server through this script. It sets PATH correctly each run, so you never fight the stale system Erlang/Elixir that Windows keeps ahead of Scoop in fresh shells.

2. Install the bp CLI

For connecting to a server, the TUI, and the setup wizard:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/FRIKKern/barkpark/main/scripts/install-cli.ps1 | iex
bp version

Auto-detects arch, verifies the sha256 against the release checksums.txt (hard-fails on mismatch), installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Barkpark\bin, and adds it to PATH. Then point it anywhere:

bp setup --target connect --server https://api.example.com --token $env:BARKPARK_TOKEN
bp whoami

Media on Windows (ImageMagick)

Image renditions normally use vix/libvips, which has no Windows prebuilt NIF. So on Windows Barkpark uses an ImageMagick backend instead: mix.exs drops the image dep, and Barkpark.Media.ImageBackend shells out to the magick CLI — a plain executable, no NIF. scripts\setup-windows.ps1 installs it (scoop install imagemagick); the backend is selected automatically by OS.

All presets work natively — thumb / preview / hero / og, JPEG and WebP. macOS, Linux, Docker, and CI keep using libvips unchanged (byte-identical output there).

Prefer libvips on Windows anyway? Install libvips + a C toolchain and build with BARKPARK_WITH_IMAGE=1, or use Docker.

Docker alternative

If you prefer containers (or want media without a C toolchain), use Docker Desktop:

bp setup --target local --docker --yes

This runs Postgres + the API in docker compose, fully isolated. Requires Docker Desktop running (docker version must succeed). If the CLI can't reach the engine, your Docker Desktop is likely outdated — update it.

Manual setup (without the script)

The Phoenix-from-clone steps are the same as Linux/macOS once a modern toolchain is present — see SETUP.md. The Windows-specific deltas the script handles for you: install via Scoop (scoop install erlang elixir postgresql), start Postgres with pg_ctl, prepend the Scoop dirs to PATH, and rely on the auto-dropped image dep. For native-from-clone backend work you can also use WSL2 and follow SETUP.md inside Ubuntu.

Troubleshooting (Windows)

• bp not recognized — open a new terminal (PATH applies to new sessions), or run & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Barkpark\bin\bp.exe" version.
• mix / erl resolve to an old version — a stale system Erlang/Elixir is ahead of Scoop on PATH. The setup script side-steps this by always prepending the Scoop toolchain; use it to run the server. To fix permanently, uninstall the old Erlang/Elixir or move the Scoop dirs earlier in PATH.
• Port 4000 in use — setup-windows.ps1 start -Port 4001.
• Postgres won't start — check ~\scoop\apps\postgresql\current\pg.log; setup-windows.ps1 status shows whether it's up.
• curl does the wrong thing — in PowerShell curl aliases Invoke-WebRequest; use irm or curl.exe.
• SmartScreen flags bp.exe — unsigned single binary; the installer's sha256 check is the integrity guarantee. Allow it or pin BARKPARK_CLI_VERSION.

Canon: QUICKSTART.md (cross-platform) · SETUP.md (from-source) · ../cards/cli.md (bp semantics).