WP Instances

Getting started

This page takes you from download to your first running site.

1. Install WP Instances

  1. Download the installer, WP Instances Setup <version>.exe, from warcal.dev/tools/wp-instances.
  2. Run it. The installer is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show Windows protected your PC. Click More info, then Run anyway. It only asks once.
  3. Accept the license agreement and finish the installer.

WP Instances installs for your Windows user only. It doesn't need administrator rights and doesn't show an admin prompt. It adds a WP Instances shortcut to the desktop and the Start menu.

2. Docker Desktop and WSL

WP Instances runs your sites in Docker. You need Docker Desktop, and Docker Desktop needs WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux).

You don't have to start Docker yourself. When you open WP Instances:

  • Docker Desktop is running: WP Instances carries on.
  • Docker Desktop is installed but not running: WP Instances starts it in the background and waits. This usually takes 20–40 seconds. The first start after installing Docker can take several minutes; WP Instances waits up to 10 minutes and shows how long it has been waiting.
  • Docker Desktop isn't installed: the start screen says Docker Desktop is needed. Click Get Docker Desktop, install it, then open WP Instances again.
  • WSL is missing: the start screen says WSL is needed. Click Install WSL and approve the Windows prompt. When it finishes, restart your PC and open WP Instances again.

Before starting Docker Desktop, WP Instances switches off Docker's own setting that opens the Docker dashboard on start, so Docker comes up quietly in the tray. No other Docker setting is changed.

3. First launch

The start screen shows each step: Checking Docker…, Starting your sites… (PHP, nginx and MariaDB), then Opening your dashboard….

The very first start takes longer, because the PHP container is built and WordPress is downloaded once. After that, starting is quick and new sites don't download anything.

When the dashboard opens:

  • A notice says that WP Instances sends anonymous crash reports. Click OK to keep them on, or Turn off. See Privacy and crash reports.
  • Your 14-day free trial has started. The status bar at the bottom shows trial · 14 days left. See License and trial.

4. Create your first site

  1. Click New site in the title bar, or press N.
  2. Type a Name, for example Client Site. Any name works. The line under the field shows the address it becomes, for example Address: http://client-site.127.0.0.1.nip.io:8080.
  3. Click Create.

A progress window shows what's happening. A new site is usually ready in a few seconds. You can click Run in Background to keep working; a notification appears when it finishes.

The name you typed becomes the WordPress site title. The address uses lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens only. If the address is already taken, WP Instances adds -2, -3 and so on, and says so under the field.

Every new site gets:

  • the latest WordPress (the cached copy is refreshed once a week)
  • an administrator with the user name admin and the password admin
  • pretty permalinks (/%postname%/)
  • PHP 8.3
  • its own database
  • the mail catcher, so it can't send real email

5. Open the site and wp-admin

Select the site in the list on the left. Its page shows a preview, its address and two buttons:

  • Open site (or press O) opens the site in your default browser.
  • Open admin lists the site's users. Pick one to be signed in to wp-admin as that user, with no password to type. Press Enter on a selected site to sign in as its first administrator straight away.

Sites always open in your browser, not inside WP Instances.

What next