pi-hole on Windows

[WkdPaul]

This thread isn't about WHY you would run pi-hole on Windows, there are plenty of reasons why and why not, this is a guide for those that want to have pi-hole running on their Windows PC for one reason or another.

 

 

 

We will be installing pi-hole on Windows, using Docker and WSL.

 

Requirements ;

• Windows 10/11
• WSL
• Docker
• Static IP on your local network for the PC you're installing this on
• A router or DHCP server where you can modify the default DNS IP on your network (but that can be done manually if needed).

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1. Activating Linux subsystems ;

 

click the start menu and search for "turn win" to get the "features" control panel application ;

Spoiler

 

In the Windows features, scroll down to "Windows Subsystems for Linux" and activate it (restart required).

Spoiler

 

Once restarted, you'll need to install the WSL 2 kernel from the link below ;

https://aka.ms/wsl2kernel

 

Download and run the wsl_update_x64.msi (no need to restart)

Spoiler

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2. installing Docker;

 

With Docker, as requirement, you'll also need to enable virtualization in your BIOS ! Refer to your MB manual to make sure it's activated.

 

Docker installer ;

https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/

 

Leave the options WSL 2 by default ;

Spoiler

Once installed, you'll ne to restart again

Spoiler

 

If you have a warning message about WSL 2 or about virtualization, it means you haven't one of the previous steps including activating virtualization in your BIOS, take the time to review everyting.

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3. installing Pi-hole

 

Now that Docker is installed, you can install pi-hole by opening a command prompt and typing the following command ;

docker pull pihole/pihole

 

Once done, you should get the following ;

Spoiler

 

 

 

Don't click RUN right away, we need to configure your pi-hole first.

 

Open a command prompt, modify the following command and run it ;

docker run -d --name pihole -e ServerIP=*.*.*.* -e WEBPASSWORD=password -e TZ=America/Montreal -e DNS1=127.17.0.1 -e DNS2=8.8.8.8 -e DNS3=1.1.1.1 -p 80:80 -p 53:53/tcp -p 53:53/udp -p 443:443 --restart=unless-stopped pihole/pihole:latest

 

• ServerIP needs to be the IP of the computer you're running Docker on, and as I mentioned earlier, it needs to be a static IP, meaning you'll have to get your router to reserve a specific IP for that PC. There are many ways to do that and many types of router, so if you're not sure, typing in Google you router model + reserve IP should give you instructions on how to accomplish that.
• WEBPASSWORD is the admin password you want to have on your p-ihole
• TZ is the timezone, the time zone formats are available here ; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones
• DNS1 is your pi-hole localhost IP, then DNS2 and 3 are alternate DNS, I have put Cloudflare and Google DNS but you can put any other public DNS, or you can put your ISP DNS.

 

You can also use your pi-hole as a DHCP server, if that's the case, you'll need to modify the above command to include that, so here's the github for Docker pi-hole ;

https://github.com/pi-hole/docker-pi-hole

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4. setting your pi-hole

 

Now your pi-hole should be running, and going to the URL 127.0.0.1/admin (or from another PC you can type you PC's IP instead of 127.0.0.1) sould bring you to your pi-hole webpage ;

Spoiler

 

You can click Login on the left, and from there modify the settings if needed, if you want to set up your pi-hole as a DHCP server, this is where you can do the setup.

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5. Fix your router DNS

 

You last step is to go to your router settings and change the DNS, of if you're using your pi-hole as a DHCP server, change the DNS to your pi-hole static IP address, and don't forget to add a secondary DNS (like Cloudflare, Google, or OpenDNS), this in case your pi-hole has a problem, this will make sure your internet doesn't drop if something happens to your pi-hole or the PC it's running on.

 

[FIXXX]

Word of warning. Don't get overzealous with blocklists.

 

If you're the only person using the computer, ie it's not a family computer, then sure have at it.

 

Here's my pihole instance running on a Synology NAS. I do have to Whitelist some random-ass website for no known reason. Even rather well-known websites about IT or whatever.

 

I did tell my wife to let me know if any website isn't loading. She only asked once and I'm 99% sure she just forgets to ask and doesn't care why some sites aren't loading.

 

 

 

[DesktopECHO]

I have an install script that works in WSL1, no Docker or virtualization needed (or Linux kernel for that matter)

Pi-hole binaries show up in Task Manager just like any other Windows app:

 

https://github.com/DesktopECHO/Pi-Hole-for-WSL1

 

Just run PH4WSL1.cmd and in a few minutes you're good to go.

 

 

[FIXXX]

2 hours ago, DesktopECHO said:

I have an install script that works in WSL1, no Docker or virtualization needed (or Linux kernel for that matter)

Pi-hole binaries show up in Task Manager just like any other Windows app:

 

https://github.com/DesktopECHO/Pi-Hole-for-WSL1

 

Just run PH4WSL1.cmd and in a few minutes you're good to go.

 

 

how long did you use this blocklist for? just so people know if its not too fresh and thus may cause false positive blockings.

[DesktopECHO]

On 9/20/2022 at 7:09 AM, FIXXX said:

how long did you use this blocklist for? just so people know if its not too fresh and thus may cause false positive blockings.

My post was regarding a Pi-hole installer for Windows 10 -- I just use the blocklist shipped with the upstream Pi-hole installer as it's enough for my needs.

Occasionally I'll run Gravity Update to update the blocklist. 

 

 

 

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

Can you explain the difference between your method and the one below? Assume I know nothing.

 

https://www.andrewdenty.com/blog/2020/01/25/installing-pi-hole-on-windows-10.html

 

The other method is simpler (it skips WSL 2), so unless there is some benefit to doing it the way shown in this thread, I think I'll follow the other guide.

 

I have an always on Windows 10 Pro system that I use for game servers and Plex on which I'd like to setup pi hole. It already has a static IP which makes things easier.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

15 hours ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

Can you explain the difference between your method and the one below? Assume I know nothing.

 

https://www.andrewdenty.com/blog/2020/01/25/installing-pi-hole-on-windows-10.html

 

The other method is simpler (it skips WSL 2), so unless there is some benefit to doing it the way shown in this thread, I think I'll follow the other guide.

 

I have an always on Windows 10 Pro system that I use for game servers and Plex on which I'd like to setup pi hole. It already has a static IP which makes things easier.

Well your guide seems to be better after all. I got Pi hole installed and running, but it doesn't seem to be properly blocking ads. There are some blocked queries, but it's a low percentage compared to what I've seen. 1.5% vs ~20%.

 

The IP address of the PC running Docker is static, and is set as the primary DNS server in the DHCP settings of my router. The router is properly telling devices on the network to use the pi hole IP as the DNS. I suspect the pi hole is getting bypassed somehow. I have some troubleshooting to do....

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

I got it working 

 

Thanks for the guide @WkdPaul!

[FIXXX]

9 hours ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

I got it working 

 

Thanks for the guide @WkdPaul!

how's your experience since then?)

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

2 minutes ago, FIXXX said:

how's your experience since then?)

Well, I've had it working for less than a day. I still have a lot of experimentation and testing to do. But so far so good. No more ads on my phone.

[FIXXX]

11 hours ago, Hairless Monkey Boy said:

Well, I've had it working for less than a day. I still have a lot of experimentation and testing to do. But so far so good. No more ads on my phone.

Well, you might end up setting up a VPN toward your home network so you can benefit from piHole on the go.

But that's a totally different kettle of fish

Still a neat experiment! 

[otieng]

On 9/20/2022 at 10:29 AM, DesktopECHO said:

I have an install script that works in WSL1, no Docker or virtualization needed (or Linux kernel for that matter)

Pi-hole binaries show up in Task Manager just like any other Windows app:

 

https://github.com/DesktopECHO/Pi-Hole-for-WSL1

 

Just run PH4WSL1.cmd and in a few minutes you're good to go.

 

 

I found this very useful. 

However, something about it defeated me. I wanted it to run on port 8000. I edited the script to replaced 80 with 8000, but it would still insist on checking if port 80 is in use, and then resort to port 60080, which would then lead to a failed install on my Windows 11. Would you be kind enough to allow the user to input the desired port during install??

Secondly, would you be kind enough to also let the user choose the pi-hole version they want? I wanted to try the v6 development branch (pihole/pihole:development-v6) instead of the master branch (pihole/pihole:latest).

Thank you so much for giving us the script. It's very handy for a personal laptop.

[noob87]

when I went to 127.0.0.1/admin as in step 4, I only see a page prompting me to login to Pi-hole. When I enter the password I put in the script in step 3, it says wrong password. What am I doing wrong?