Windows 10: How to Install RSAT

IT admins use Remote Server Administration Tools (or RSAT) to manage Windows Server roles and features. Examples of tools included in the RSAT package: Server Manager, DNS Server Tools, Windows PowerShell cmdlets and providers, File Transfer Tools, various command-line tools, and more.

The RSAT package is compatible only with Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. You cannot run RSAT on Windows 10 Home.

By the way, if you want to learn more about the differences between Windows 10 Home and Pro, do check out this in-depth guide.

Steps to Install RSAT on Windows 10

Windows 10 October 2018 Update or later

The latest Windows 10 versions include the RSAT package in the OS. You can find the tools under Windows Features.

1. Navigate to Settings
2. Click on Apps and then select Apps & Features.
3. Select Optional features (or Manage optional features).
4. Next, click on Add a feature.
5. Scroll down and select RSAT.
6. Hit the Install button to install the tools on your device.

How to Install RSAT via PowerShell

You can also use PowerShell to install RSAT. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Check what RSAT tools you installed using this command:
   • Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Select-Object -Property Name, State.
2. If you don’t need to install all the tools listed there, add Add-WindowsCapability. Then enter the name of that tool you’re interested in
   • Example: Add-WindowsCapability -Name Rsat.FileServices.Tools~~~~0.0.1.0.
3. On the other hand, if you want to install all those tools, you can simply run this command:
   • Get-WindowsCapability -Name RSAT* -Online | Add-WindowsCapability –Online.

Prior to the October 2018 Update

If you decided not to upgrade to the latest Windows 10 version, you need to manually download the RSAT package on your device.

1. The first step is to download the Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 10 from Microsoft.
2. Save the RSAT package on your device.
3. Double-click on the installer. Depending on your machine, it’s either WindowsTH-RSAT_WS_[version]-x64.msu or WindowsTH-RSAT_WS_[version]-x86.msu.
4. Hit the Install button to launch the install process. Accept the license terms.
5. Wait a few minutes until the installation process is complete.
6. All the RSAT tools are enabled by default on your machine.

Of course, if you don’t need all the tools, you can simply disable those that you know you’re not going to use.

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Navigate to Programs →  Programs and Features.
3. Select Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Locate the Remote Server Administration Tools.
5. Expand the list of tools.
6. Then clear the checkboxes of the tools you want to disable.

Note: If you disable the Server Manager, you need to reboot the computer. After that, use the Administration Tools folder to open the tools that you used to access via the Server Manager.