# Beginner's Guide for Windows (Zero to Hero)

If you have **never used Docker before**, navigating command lines can be intimidating. This exact step-by-step guide is structured for absolute beginners who just want the Free Games Claimer to run quietly in the background on Windows upon computer startup.

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## Phase 1: Installing Docker Desktop 🐋
Docker is the engine that will run the project safely in a virtual container without messing with your Windows files.

1. Download **Docker Desktop** for Windows from the [official website](https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/).
2. Run the installer. Ensure that the option to use **WSL 2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux)** is left **checked**.
3. After installation (it may require a PC restart), open Docker Desktop.
4. **Crucial setup:** Click the "Gear" icon (Settings) in the top right. Under the "General" tab, ensure that **"Start Docker Desktop when you log in"** is checked. This guarantees it wakes up with your Windows.

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## Phase 2: Optimizing WSL Resources (Extremely Important!) 💾
By default, Docker's WSL 2 engine can greedily consume a lot of your system's RAM. It must be strictly limited to a totally safe **3GB**, ensuring your gaming PC never feels slow while running it in the background.

1. Press `Win + R` on your keyboard, type `%USERPROFILE%` and hit **Enter**. (This opens your main User folder like `C:\Users\YourName`).
2. **Crucial:** Windows hides file extensions by default. In File Explorer, click "View" at the top -> "Show" -> check "File name extensions".
3. Right-click in the empty space -> New -> Text Document.
4. Name it exactly **`.wslconfig`** and delete the `.txt` part. (When asked if you want to change the extension, click Yes).
5. Open this file with Notepad and copy/paste the following:
```ini
[wsl2]
memory=3GB
```
6. Save the file.
7. Open your Windows **Command Prompt** (`cmd`) and type `wsl --shutdown` and press enter. When Docker turns back on, it will strictly obey the 3GB limit!

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## Phase 3: Getting Dockhand (The Easy Visual Interface) 🌐
Instead of interacting with black terminal windows, installing **Dockhand** is highly recommended. It provides a beautiful visual web interface that lets you see your container, edit passwords, and press "Start/Restart" buttons easily without knowing terminal commands.

To install Dockhand, follow the official quick start deployment guides at the **[Dockhand Website](https://dockhand.pro)** or simply deploy its standard docker container. Create your admin account when it's up and running!

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## Phase 4: Deploying Free Games Claimer

There are two primary ways to set up the claimer. **Method A** is highly recommended if you use Dockhand!

### Method A: Using Dockhand (Visual Web UI)
1. Inside your Dockhand dashboard, navigate to the **Stacks** or **Compose** section.
2. Name the stack however you like, for example: `free-games-claimer`.
3. In the text editor box, **paste the entire contents of the `docker-compose.yml` file** from the GitHub repository.
4. Set up your `.env` configuration (e.g. `EG_EMAIL=twoj@mail.com`) within the environment variables block or `.env` editor in Dockhand matching the `.env.example` file.
5. Click **Deploy / Update**. That's it! Dockhand handles the downloading and execution automatically in the background.

### Method B: The Classic Folder Method
If for some reason you don't want to use a visual interface:
1. Go to the main page of this GitHub repository. Click the green **"Code"** button and select **"Download ZIP"**.
2. Extract the ZIP file somewhere safe (like `Documents/free-games-claimer`).
3. Inside the extracted folder, find `.env.example`, rename it strictly to `.env`, and fill out your logins inside it using Notepad.
4. **Open Terminal exactly in this folder:** Click on the address bar at the very top of the window, erase the text, type `cmd`, and hit **Enter**. A black command window will pop up already pointing to your exact folder!
5. In that black window, type `docker compose up -d` and hit Enter. The `-d` explicitly tells Docker to run it detached (invisibly).

---

## Phase 5: The First-Time Login (Optional) 🔐
If you provided your emails and passwords safely in the `.env` file, the bot will try to log in entirely by itself! However, **if you left them blank** or **if stores require a 2FA code (like Steam Guard mobile tokens or email verification)**, the system will pause and wait for your manual intervention.

1. Open your internet browser and go to **`http://localhost:7080`**.
2. You will see a live video feed of the bot operating a virtual Chrome browser inside the container.
3. If it is stuck at a login screen waiting for a 2FA code, password, or CAPTCHA, simply interact with the window and log in normally using your mouse/keyboard. 
   - It waits three minutes for you (`VNC_LOGIN_TIMEOUT` in `.env` if you want longer). If nobody answers, that one store is skipped for the rest of the run and tried again on the next one, so nothing sits waiting forever.
4. Once you see the storefront's homepage, **you can simply close the `7080` tab**.

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## Phase 6: The Four Commands You Will Actually Need 🧰

Open a terminal in the folder that holds your `docker-compose.yml` (click the address bar, type `cmd`, hit Enter), or use the same buttons in Dockhand.

| What you want | Command |
|---|---|
| See what the bot is doing | `docker logs -f fgc-remaster` (press `Ctrl + C` to stop watching, the bot keeps running) |
| Update to the newest version | `docker compose pull` then `docker compose up -d` |
| Stop it, keeping your logins | `docker compose down` |
| Start completely fresh | `docker compose down -v` then `docker compose up -d` |

**What the difference is:** your logins and the record of what was already claimed live in a Docker volume next to the container, not inside it. `down` leaves that volume alone, so starting again picks up where you left off and you do not sign in a second time. `down -v` deletes it, which means every store asks you to sign in again through VNC. Updating never touches it, the new version simply starts using what is already there.

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From now on, because your container is configured with `restart: unless-stopped`, the Free Games Claimer operates autonomously utilizing its built-in memory of your session. It will silently wake up, check for free games every 12 hours behind the scenes, and go back to sleep. 

Enjoy the automated free games!