Windows Installation

Install the OpenTelemetry Collector directly on Windows as a Windows Service.

Overview

This PowerShell script deploys the Coralogix OpenTelemetry Collector as a Windows Service. It supports both local configuration mode (configuration file provided locally) and supervisor mode (remote configuration via Fleet Management).

Prerequisites

Windows 10/11, Windows Server 2016 or later
PowerShell 5.1 or later
Administrator privileges
Coralogix Send-Your-Data API key

Tip

Configuration Required

A configuration file must be provided when installing the collector. Use the example configuration from the otel-windows-standalone/build folder. Make sure to update the domain value in the configuration file to match your Coralogix domain.

Quick Start

Run the following command in an elevated PowerShell (Run as Administrator) to download the installer from GitHub and install with your config file:

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Config 'C:\path\to\your\config.yaml'

Replace <your-private-key> with your Send-Your-Data API key and C:\path\to\your\config.yaml with the path to your config file. Ensure the config file exists on the machine before running (e.g. create it in Notepad and save as C:\otel\config.yaml). Copy the command as a single line; the key must be in single quotes with a closing quote before the semicolon (e.g. 'your-key'; & $f).

Note: On Windows Server 2016 or older, prepend [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12; to the command so the download from GitHub succeeds (GitHub requires TLS 1.2+).

Note: For specific versions, see releases (look for otel-installer-v* tags).

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Variable	Required	Description
CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY	Yes	Your Coralogix Send-Your-Data API key
CORALOGIX_DOMAIN	Supervisor mode only	Your Coralogix domain

Automatically Set Variables

The installer automatically sets these environment variables for the collector service:

Variable	Default	Description
OTEL_MEMORY_LIMIT_MIB	512	Memory limit in MiB (set via `-MemoryLimit` parameter)
OTEL_LISTEN_INTERFACE	127.0.0.1	Network interface for receivers (set via `-ListenInterface` parameter)

To use these in your configuration file:

processors:
  memory_limiter:
    limit_mib: ${env:OTEL_MEMORY_LIMIT_MIB:-512}

receivers:
  otlp:
    protocols:
      grpc:
        endpoint: ${env:OTEL_LISTEN_INTERFACE:-127.0.0.1}:4317

Supported Platforms

Windows Versions

Windows 10 (all editions)
Windows 11 (all editions)
Windows Server 2016 and later

Architectures

x64 (amd64)
ARM64

Install with Custom Configuration

To install with your own configuration file (script is downloaded from GitHub and run from temp):

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Config 'C:\path\to\config.yaml'

Install Specific Version

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Version 0.144.0

Install with Custom Memory Limit

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -MemoryLimit 2048

Note: Your configuration must reference ${env:OTEL_MEMORY_LIMIT_MIB} for this to take effect.

Install as Gateway (Listen on All Interfaces)

By default, the collector listens only on 127.0.0.1. To accept connections from other hosts (gateway mode):

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -ListenInterface 0.0.0.0

Note: Your configuration must reference ${env:OTEL_LISTEN_INTERFACE} for this to take effect.

Dynamic Metadata Parsing (IIS Logs)

Enable dynamic metadata parsing for file-based logs, such as IIS logs with header-based format detection:

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -EnableDynamicIISParsing

This option creates a storage directory at C:\ProgramData\OpenTelemetry\Collector\storage and runs the collector with --feature-gates=filelog.allowHeaderMetadataParsing. Only available in regular mode, not supervisor mode.

Note: If your configuration file uses the file_storage extension (e.g. for checkpoint state), you must also pass -EnableDynamicIISParsing so the installer creates the required storage directory. Without it, the service will fail to start with an error about the storage directory not existing.

Supervisor Mode

Supervisor mode enables remote configuration management through Coralogix Fleet Management.

Basic Installation

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_DOMAIN='<your-domain>'; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Supervisor

With Fleet Management Selector Attributes

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_DOMAIN='<your-domain>'; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Supervisor -SupervisorOpampAttribute 'fleet.test.id=fleet-demo','deployment.environment=staging'

-SupervisorOpampAttribute is repeatable and adds non-identifying agent attributes for Fleet Management selectors. Duplicate keys and built-in service.name or cx.agent.type overrides fail. It cannot be combined with -SupervisorOpampConfig.

Note: Supervisor mode requires version 0.144.0 or higher (Windows MSI is available from this version). If the detected version is lower, the script will automatically use 0.144.0.

With Specific Versions

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_DOMAIN='<your-domain>'; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Supervisor -SupervisorVersion 0.144.0 -CollectorVersion 0.144.0

With Local MSI File

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_DOMAIN='<your-domain>'; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Supervisor -SupervisorMsi 'C:\path\to\opampsupervisor.msi'

With Custom Base Collector Config

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_DOMAIN='<your-domain>'; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Supervisor -SupervisorCollectorBaseConfig 'C:\path\to\collector.yaml'

The base config is merged with remote configuration from Fleet Manager. The config cannot contain the opamp extension (the supervisor manages the OpAMP connection).

Script Parameters

Parameter	Description
`-Version <version>`	Install specific collector version
`-Config <path>`	Path to custom configuration file
`-MemoryLimit <MiB>`	Total memory in MiB to allocate (default: 512)
`-ListenInterface <ip>`	Network interface for receivers (default: 127.0.0.1)
`-Supervisor`	Install with OpAMP Supervisor mode
`-SupervisorVersion <version>`	Supervisor version (supervisor mode only)
`-CollectorVersion <version>`	Collector version (supervisor mode only)
`-SupervisorMsi <path>`	Path to local OpAMP Supervisor MSI file
`-SupervisorCollectorBaseConfig <path>`	Path to base collector config for supervisor mode
`-SupervisorOpampConfig <path>`	Path to custom OpAMP supervisor config file
`-SupervisorOpampAttribute <key=value>`	Add repeatable Supervisor OpAMP non-identifying agent attribute
`-EnableDynamicIISParsing`	Enable dynamic IIS log parsing with header-based field detection
`-Uninstall`	Remove the collector (keeps config)
`-Uninstall -Purge`	Remove the collector and all configuration
`-Help`	Show help message

Installation Locations

Local Configuration Mode

Component	Location
Binary	`C:\Program Files\OpenTelemetry Collector\otelcol-contrib.exe`
Configuration	`C:\ProgramData\OpenTelemetry\Collector\config.yaml`
Service	`otelcol-contrib` (Windows Service)
Logs	Windows Event Log (Application)

Supervisor Mode

Component	Location
Collector Binary	`C:\Program Files\OpenTelemetry Collector\otelcol-contrib.exe`
Supervisor Binary	`C:\Program Files\OpenTelemetry OpAMP Supervisor\opampsupervisor.exe`
Supervisor Config	`C:\Program Files\OpenTelemetry OpAMP Supervisor\config.yaml`
Collector Config	`C:\Program Files\OpenTelemetry OpAMP Supervisor\collector.yaml`
Effective Config	`C:\ProgramData\opampsupervisor\state\effective.yaml`
Service	`opampsupervisor` (Windows Service)
Logs	Windows Event Log (Application) - Source: `opampsupervisor`

Service Management

Local Configuration Mode

# Check status
Get-Service otelcol-contrib

# View logs (Event Log)
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source otelcol-contrib -Newest 50

# Restart / Stop / Start
Restart-Service otelcol-contrib
Stop-Service otelcol-contrib
Start-Service otelcol-contrib

# Validate config
& "C:\Program Files\OpenTelemetry Collector\otelcol-contrib.exe" validate --config "C:\ProgramData\OpenTelemetry\Collector\config.yaml"

Supervisor Mode

# Check status
Get-Service opampsupervisor

# View logs
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source opampsupervisor -Newest 50 | Format-List

# Restart / Stop / Start
Restart-Service opampsupervisor
Stop-Service opampsupervisor
Start-Service opampsupervisor

# Check collector process (managed by supervisor)
Get-Process otelcol-contrib -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Viewing Configuration Files (Supervisor Mode)

# View effective config (actual config after merge with Fleet Management)
Get-Content "C:\ProgramData\opampsupervisor\state\effective.yaml"

Uninstall

Remove the collector while keeping configuration and logs (script is downloaded from GitHub and run):

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; & $f -Uninstall

Remove the collector and all data:

$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; & $f -Uninstall -Purge

Note: For regular mode, uninstall uses the Windows MSI uninstaller. You can also uninstall manually via Windows Settings > Apps > "OpenTelemetry Collector".

Configuration Behavior

Scenario	Action
Fresh install	Creates default empty config
Config exists	Preserves existing config
With `-Config`	Uses provided config
Auto-upgrade	Preserves existing config
Supervisor mode	Config managed remotely via OpAMP

Troubleshooting

Service Fails to Start

If the installer reports that the service failed to start, it will print recent errors from the Application Event Log. You can also run:

Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source otelcol-contrib -Newest 20

Common causes:

IIS receiver in config but IIS not installed: Remove the iis receiver (and its use in pipelines) from your config if the machine does not have the IIS role, or install the Web Server (IIS) role.
file_storage extension but storage directory missing: Your config references file_storage but the storage directory does not exist. Re-run the installer with -EnableDynamicIISParsing to create C:\ProgramData\OpenTelemetry\Collector\storage automatically. The installer will detect and report this error specifically if the service fails to start.
Invalid config: Run: & "C:\Program Files\OpenTelemetry Collector\otelcol-contrib.exe" validate --config "C:\ProgramData\OpenTelemetry\Collector\config.yaml"
Missing env var: Ensure CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY is set for the service (the installer sets it; if you reconfigure manually, set it in the service’s environment).

SSL/TLS Connection Error (Windows Server 2016 and older)

If you encounter "The request was aborted: Could not create SSL/TLS secure channel" when running the installation script, your system may be defaulting to TLS 1.0. GitHub requires TLS 1.2.

Optional fix for affected versions: On Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, or older Windows 10, enable TLS 1.2 before downloading:

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
$u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Config 'C:\path\to\config.yaml'

Script Execution Policy

If you get execution policy errors:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Or run with bypass:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command { $u='https://github.com/coralogix/telemetry-shippers/releases/latest/download/coralogix-otel-collector.ps1'; $f="$env:TEMP\coralogix-otel-collector.ps1"; Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $u -OutFile $f -UseBasicParsing; $env:CORALOGIX_PRIVATE_KEY='<your-private-key>'; & $f -Config 'C:\otel\config.yaml' }

Process Not Found

If Get-Process otelcol-contrib returns "Cannot find a process":

Check if the service is running:

Get-Service otelcol-contrib
# or for supervisor mode:
Get-Service opampsupervisor

Check why it failed:

# For local configuration mode
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source otelcol-contrib -Newest 20

# For supervisor mode
Get-EventLog -LogName Application -Source opampsupervisor -Newest 50 | Format-List

Try starting the service manually:

Start-Service otelcol-contrib
Get-Service otelcol-contrib

Administrator Privileges

The script requires administrator privileges. Right-click PowerShell and choose Run as Administrator, then run the install command again.

Additional Resources

Resource	Link
GitHub Repository	telemetry-shippers
OpenTelemetry Documentation	OpenTelemetry Collector

Support

Need help?

Our world-class customer success team is available 24/7 to walk you through your setup and answer any questions that may come up.

Feel free to reach out to us via our in-app chat or by sending us an email at [email protected].

Last updated on September 25, 2026

Overview​

Prerequisites​

Quick Start​

Environment Variables​

Required Variables​

Automatically Set Variables​

Supported Platforms​

Windows Versions​

Architectures​

Install with Custom Configuration​

Install Specific Version​

Install with Custom Memory Limit​

Install as Gateway (Listen on All Interfaces)​

Dynamic Metadata Parsing (IIS Logs)​

Supervisor Mode​

Basic Installation​

With Fleet Management Selector Attributes​

With Specific Versions​

With Local MSI File​

With Custom Base Collector Config​

Script Parameters​

Installation Locations​

Local Configuration Mode​

Supervisor Mode​

Service Management​

Local Configuration Mode​

Supervisor Mode​

Viewing Configuration Files (Supervisor Mode)​

Uninstall​

Configuration Behavior​

Troubleshooting​

Service Fails to Start​

SSL/TLS Connection Error (Windows Server 2016 and older)​

Script Execution Policy​

Process Not Found​

Administrator Privileges​

Additional Resources​

Support​

Overview

Prerequisites

Quick Start

Environment Variables

Required Variables

Automatically Set Variables

Supported Platforms

Windows Versions

Architectures

Install with Custom Configuration

Install Specific Version

Install with Custom Memory Limit

Install as Gateway (Listen on All Interfaces)

Dynamic Metadata Parsing (IIS Logs)

Supervisor Mode

Basic Installation

With Fleet Management Selector Attributes

With Specific Versions

With Local MSI File

With Custom Base Collector Config

Script Parameters

Installation Locations

Local Configuration Mode

Supervisor Mode

Service Management

Local Configuration Mode

Supervisor Mode

Viewing Configuration Files (Supervisor Mode)

Uninstall

Configuration Behavior

Troubleshooting

Service Fails to Start

SSL/TLS Connection Error (Windows Server 2016 and older)

Script Execution Policy

Process Not Found

Administrator Privileges

Additional Resources

Support