Install Caddy on Windows

Modern web server with automatic HTTPS, usable as a reverse proxy and file server.

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Installation

Chocolatey · Chocolatey

$ choco install caddy

Alternatively, download the single caddy.exe from caddyserver.com/download.

Verify the installation

Verify

$ caddy version

Important files

Type	Path	Description
config	Caddyfile	Caddy reads a file named Caddyfile in the current working directory by default.

Default ports

80443

Command-line tools

caddyRun caddy run to start in the foreground; caddy start / caddy stop to run in the background; caddy reload to apply changes.

Uninstall

caddy stop
choco uninstall caddy

Good to know

On Windows, Caddy does not register a service by default: start it with caddy run (foreground) or caddy start (background) from a folder containing your Caddyfile.
To run it as a real Windows service, use a wrapper such as WinSW or NSSM.
caddy.exe is a single self-contained binary; the download from caddyserver.com works without an installer.

Installation on Windows

choco install caddy (Chocolatey) installs the caddy binary and adds it to the PATH. Alternatively, download the single caddy.exe from caddyserver.com/download and place it anywhere on your PATH. Verify with caddy version.

Starting and stopping

Windows Caddy is not a system service. From a folder containing your Caddyfile, run caddy run to keep it in the foreground, or caddy start to detach it; stop a detached instance with caddy stop and apply config edits with caddy reload. To run it as a real Windows service, wrap it with WinSW or NSSM.

Local HTTPS

For development, use a site address of localhost: Caddy serves HTTPS with a locally trusted certificate authority it installs on first run. Public domains still require ports 80/443 to be reachable for automatic certificate issuance.