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GhostWin 👻

Windows Rust Automation Security CLI/GUI WinPE License

GhostWin Logo

GhostWin is your Windows setup automation sidekick, no more hackery to make a local Windows account - no account required!

A modern, secure, and Rust-powered Windows deployment toolkit designed for IT professionals. Built with simplicity, automation, and powerful customization in mind, GhostWin provides a fast and reliable interface for building custom Windows installer images with embedded scripts, tools, and user-driven options.

✅ Built for Resolve Technology in collaboration with Christopher Kelley

🚀 Quick Start

One-Line Install (Windows)

irm https://win.cktech.sh | iex

Launch GUI

ghostwin gui

Build Custom ISO

ghostwin build --source-iso Windows11.iso --output-iso GhostWin.iso

📖 Need setup details? Start with docs/getting-started/setup.md.

✨ Goals

  • Rust-native ISO builder for Windows-based WinPE environments
  • CLI and GUI workflows for power users and technicians
  • Built-in automation for post-install scripts, tool inclusion, driver injection
  • Flexible folder-based config system for layout and tool registration
  • Remote-friendly with optional VNC/mesh VPN integrations
  • Better DX than DISM/Build.bat workflows

✨ Key Features

🎨 Modern GUI Interface

  • Professional dark theme optimized for WinPE environments
  • Intuitive sidebar navigation with build, install, and tools views
  • Real-time progress tracking and toast notifications

🔧 Powerful Automation

  • One-click deployment modes: Normal and Automated installation
  • Integrated script execution for registry tweaks and system configuration
  • Auto-detection and organization of tools across multiple directories

🌐 Remote Access Ready

  • Built-in VNC server with connection management
  • Secure remote assistance capabilities for complex deployments
  • Real-time connectivity status and controls

⚡ Performance & Reliability

  • Rust-native implementation for speed and memory safety
  • Minimal dependencies optimized for WinPE environments
  • Robust error handling and recovery mechanisms

🚀 Installation

Prerequisites

  • Windows 10/11 with Administrator privileges
  • 20GB+ free disk space for ISO building
  • Internet connection for dependency downloads

Dependencies (Automatically Handled)

The installer automatically detects and installs required dependencies:

  • 🔧 Visual Studio Build Tools — Required for Windows compilation
  • 🦀 Rust Toolchain — For building from source
  • 📦 Windows ADK — Assessment and Deployment Kit
  • 🔌 Windows PE Add-on — Preinstallation Environment support

💡 Tip: The installer uses winget when available, with automatic fallback to direct downloads.

Automated Installation (Recommended)

irm https://win.cktech.sh | iex

The installer handles dependency detection, Rust installation, ADK/WinPE setup, and builds GhostWin from source.

🎯 Installation Features:

  • 🤖 Smart dependency detection — Checks for Rust, ADK, and WinPE components
  • 📦 Winget integration — Uses winget for ADK/PE with fallback to direct downloads
  • 🛡️ Error handling — Clear guidance when issues occur

Manual Installation

  1. Install Rust: Download from rustup.rs
  2. Clone Repository: git clone https://github.com/ghostkellz/ghostwin.git
  3. Build Project: cargo build --release
  4. Verify: ./target/release/ghostwin.exe --version

📖 Detailed Setup Guide: Check docs/getting-started/setup.md.

🖥️ GUI Interface

GhostWin Screenshot

The GhostWin GUI launches inside WinPE with a clean dark theme and sidebar-based navigation:

🎯 Main Features:

  • Dashboard: Quick access to build, install, and tools with system status overview
  • Build View: Create custom Windows ISOs with progress tracking
  • Install View: Normal and Automated installation modes
  • Tools View: Category-filtered tool browser with one-click execution
  • VNC Control: Sidebar toggle with connection status

🎨 UI Framework:

  • Slint: Native WinPE rendering, minimal dependencies, pure Rust
  • Dark theme with consistent spacing and typography
  • Responsive layout with compact and comfortable modes

🧰 Toolkit

GhostWin includes:

  • 📦 7-Zip — Compression + ISO extraction
  • 📁 Explorer++ — WinPE file browser
  • 🧠 Sysinternals Suite — Disk2VHD, Autoruns, etc.
  • 🔍 NirSoft Utilities — Device + event log explorers
  • 💡 ReactOS Paint — Image viewer
  • 🔧 NTPWEdit — Local account password reset
  • 🧪 CrystalDisk, GSmartControl — Disk health & benchmarks
  • 🔐 Optional: Netbird or Tailscale support for remote/mesh connectivity

🔧 ISO Creation

GhostWin's ghostwin build CLI tool will:

  1. Mount the Windows boot.wim image
  2. 🔥 Auto-inject storage drivers (Intel VMD/RST, NVMe)
  3. Inject GhostWin helper + user scripts/tools
  4. Inject WinPE packages from ADK
  5. Modify registry if needed (e.g., DPI fix)
  6. Unmount and commit WIM changes
  7. Rebuild a bootable ISO using oscdimg

🚀 Two Options for Dell/Lenovo NVMe Systems:

Option 1: Disable Intel VMD in BIOS (Recommended - No Drivers Needed!)

For fresh Windows installs, just change one BIOS setting:

Dell: BIOS → System Configuration → SATA Operation → AHCI Lenovo: BIOS → Devices → SATA Controller Mode → AHCI

✅ No drivers needed ✅ Drives visible immediately ✅ Simplest solution

See VMD Bypass Guide for step-by-step instructions.

Option 2: Keep VMD Enabled + Auto-Load Drivers

For systems requiring RAID or Intel Optane:

# Download Intel RST drivers automatically
.\scripts\Download-Drivers.ps1 -IntelRST

# Download all supported drivers
.\scripts\Download-Drivers.ps1 -All

Supported Hardware:

  • ✅ Intel 15th Gen (Arrow Lake) with VMD
  • ✅ Micron 3400 NVMe (common in Dell 2024+ systems)
  • ✅ Samsung 980 PRO / 990 PRO / 970 EVO Plus
  • ✅ Dell Optiplex 3000/5000/7000/9000 series

See Driver Guide for driver setup details.

Requirements:

  • Windows ADK + WinPE Add-on
  • Rust (1.94+) + ghostwin CLI
  • Base Windows 11 ISO
  • Storage drivers (auto-downloaded or manual)

🔒 Security

  • No modifications to install.wim by default
  • Scripts and tools are user-injected and logged
  • Optional remote access tools are encrypted & ephemeral
  • ISO builds are reproducible via config file

🧱 Project Structure

ghostwin/
├── ghostwin.exe
├── ghostwin.toml          # Configuration file
├── tools/                 # System tools
├── scripts/               # Build scripts
├── pe_autorun/           # Auto-run scripts
├── resources/            # Fonts, icons, etc
└── config/               # Default configurations

🗺️ Development Roadmap

Feature Status Notes
Build custom WinPE ISOs 🟨 In Progress Clean Rust CLI instead of batch scripts
Integrate scripts & tools 🟩 Done Folder-based detection (/Tools, /Logon)
GUI frontend in WinPE 🟩 Done Slint-based native GUI with dark theme
VNC & remote access 🟩 Done TightVNC integration and status display
Driver injection 🟨 Planned PEAutoRun/Drivers/ detection
Logon script selector 🟨 In Progress With background/system context flags
ghostwin build CLI tool 🟨 In Progress Replaces Build.bat completely

📜 License

MIT License — see LICENSE file.

🎯 Inspiration & Credits

Audit Scripts & WinPE Components

The audit scripts and WinPE functionality in GhostWin were inspired by Windows Setup Helper created by jmclaren7. Windows Setup Helper provided valuable insights into automating Windows deployment and served as a foundation for our enhanced automation features.

🤝 Contributors

  • Resolve Technology
  • Christopher Kelley (@ghostkellz / CK Technology)
  • Jmclaren7 - Creator of Windows Setup Helper which inspired this project

🔗 Links & Resources

📖 Documentation

🌐 Online

🛠️ Tools & Scripts

GhostWin is your Windows setup automation sidekick, no more hackery to make a local Windows account - no account required! 🚀