fleet/articles/windows-linux-setup-experience.md

# Windows & Linux setup experience

_Available in Fleet Premium_

In Fleet, you can customize the out-of-the-box Windows and Linux setup.

Currently, Windows setup experience is only supported for [manual enrollments](https://fleetdm.com/guides/windows-mdm-setup#manual-enrollment). [Automatic enrollment](https://fleetdm.com/guides/windows-mdm-setup#automatic-enrollment) and [Autopilot](https://fleetdm.com/guides/windows-mdm-setup#windows-autopilot) support is coming soon.

Currently, Linux setup experience is only supported for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Amazon Linux, CentOS, openSUSE, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Here's what you can configure, and in what order each happen, to your Windows and Linux hosts during setup:

1. Require [end users to authenticate](#end-user-authentication) with your identity provider (IdP).

2. [Install software](#install-software) including [app store apps](https://fleetdm.com/guides/install-app-store-apps), [custom packages](https://fleetdm.com/guides/deploy-software-packages) (e.g. a bootstrap package), and [Fleet-maintained apps](https://fleetdm.com/guides/fleet-maintained-apps).

Below is the end user experience for Linux. Check out the separate video for [Windows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHqT29NP-nk).

<div purpose="embedded-content">
   <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UZAqw4pg9xE?si=rMhbfImonY4Avb06" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div>

## End user authentication

### End user experience

Fleet automatically opens the default web browser and directs the end user to log in before the setup process can continue. 

If the end user enrolls through **Settings > Access work or school**, Fleet's authentication window will be skipped because the user already authenticated.

Learn how to enforce authentication in the [setup experience guide](https://fleetdm.com/guides/setup-experience#end-user-authentication).

When wiping and re-enrolling a host, delete the host from Fleet as well. Otherwise, end user authentication won’t be enforced when it re-enrolls.

> If the Fleet agent (fleetd) installed on the host is older than version 1.50.0, end user authentication won't be enforced.

## Install software

### End user experience

Fleet automatically opens the default web browser to show end users software install progress:

![screen shot of Fleet setup experience webpage](../website/assets/images/articles/setup-experience-browser-1795x1122@2x.png)

The browser can be closed, and the installation will continue in the background. End users can return to the setup experience page by clicking **My Device** from Fleet Desktop.  Once all steps have completed, the **My Device** page will show the host information as usual.

For Linux, Fleet automatically installs on compatible platforms. This means `.deb` packages are only installed on Ubuntu and Debian hosts. `.rpm` packages are only installed on Fedora, CentOS, Amazon Linux, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

If software installs fail, Fleet automatically retries. Learn more in the [setup experience guide](https://fleetdm.com/guides/setup-experience#end-user-authentication).

To replace the Fleet logo with your organization's logo:

1. Go to **Settings** > **Organization settings** > **Organization info**
2. Add URLs to your logos in the **Organization avatar URL (for dark backgrounds)** and **Organization avatar URL (for light backgrounds)** fields
3. Press **Save**

> See [configuration documentation](https://fleetdm.com/docs/configuration/yaml-files#org-info) for recommended logo sizes.

> Software installations during setup experience are automatically attempted up to 3 times (1 initial attempt + 2 retries) to handle intermittent network issues or temporary failures. This ensures a more reliable setup process for end users.

### Add software

Add setup experience software setup experience:

1. Click on the **Controls** tab in the main navigation bar,  then **Setup experience** > **3. Install software**.
2. Click on the tab corresponding to the operating system (e.g. Linux).
3. Click **Add software**, then select or search for the software you want installed during the setup experience.
4. Press **Save** to save your selection.

Fleet also provides a API endpoints for managing setup experience software programmatically. Learn more in Fleet's [API reference](https://fleetdm.com/docs/rest-api/rest-api#update-software-setup-experience).

<meta name="category" value="guides">
<meta name="authorGitHubUsername" value="dantecatalfamo">
<meta name="authorFullName" value="Dante Catalfamo">
<meta name="publishedOn" value="2025-09-24">
<meta name="articleTitle" value="Windows & Linux setup experience">
<meta name="description" value="Install software when Linux and Windows workstations enroll to Fleet">