NodeDR POS Now Installs Natively on Windows and Linux — No Docker Required

Docker was never a hard requirement for NodeDR POS conceptually — it was just the fastest way to ship a consistent, reproducible install across Windows, macOS, and Linux with one script. But asking a shop owner to install Docker before they can install their register was always the highest-friction step in the whole setup. As of v1.0.0, that step is gone for the two most common platforms: Windows and Debian/Ubuntu now install as native, standalone applications.

What the Windows installer actually does

Download and run the installer, and NodeDR POS sets itself up as two Windows services — NodeDR POS Backend and NodeDR POS Web Interface — that auto-start at boot with no login required. Data lives in C:\ProgramData\NodeDRPOS, outside Program Files, so it survives upgrades and even a clean uninstall. The installer opens a firewall rule for port 1994 only — the internal API port stays blocked from the rest of the network, the same reduced-surface design as the Docker deployment.

One honest caveat: the installer isn’t code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen shows “Windows protected your PC” on first run. Click More info → Run anyway — the binary is built and published straight from the project’s own CI, and checksums are published alongside every release for anyone who wants to verify it.

What the Debian/Ubuntu installer does

sudo apt install ./nodedr-pos_1.0.0_amd64.deb bundles Node.js and installs NodeDR POS as a hardened systemd service, running under a dedicated, unprivileged nodedr-pos user rather than root. USB thermal printing works out of the box via udev rules — no manual device permission wrangling. An operator CLI (nodedr-pos doctor|backup|restore|logs) covers the day-to-day maintenance that used to mean reaching for raw docker compose commands.

Docker Compose isn’t going anywhere

The existing ./install.sh Docker Compose deployment is unchanged and remains fully supported — it’s still the way to run NodeDR POS on macOS, on any Linux distro other than Debian/Ubuntu, or if you simply prefer containers. The native installers are an additional path, not a replacement.

What’s still in progress

A native macOS .dmg and a system tray icon for the desktop installers are next on the roadmap — see the full status there.

Download for Windows · Download for Debian/Ubuntu · read the full release notes.